Brutality
by christian brown
Summary: The US launches the ultimate plot to destroy the JL while Lobo is hired to kill Diana. Lots of BMWWLS, HGGLVX. Sequel to "Days of Thunder."
1. I Remember

Disclaimer: Justice League Unlimited is owned by DC/Warner Bros.

NOTE: I decided to nix "Sisterhood" for a while with all the new developments on the show. This is a bonus story I added on to "Days of Thunder." It's a prologue to a future story I'm thinking about naming "Brutality." For those of you who requested more Batman/ Wonder Woman, I hope this keeps you sustained until I start the new story.

"Days of Thunder" Epilogue and Prologue to "Brutality"

"I Remember"

"What are you watching?" Supergirl says as she approaches Green Lantern in one of the living rooms. Steel, Green Arrow, Hawk, Dove, and Elongated Man are seated at one of the tables playing cards.

"They call her Cleopatra," he replies, sounding very tired but very focused on the big screen, "Leader of a new band of amazons living off the coast of Madagascar. Miracle Island."

"What's she talking about?" Supergirl says

"Just the usual anti-male gibberish," he replies, "We didn't know about their existence until a week after Shay—Hawkgirl came back… anyway, they've taken over much of the island."

"Why didn't we know about them before? I mean, Wonder Woman is an amazon; why didn't she say something?" Supergirl asks, "I've never even heard of Miracle Island."

"We've all been dealing with so much. Every day, every hour there's a crisis. And ever since we found out that there are more portals out there, and that the United States government may be against us, problems have just been popping up everywhere," he says

"Yeah," she replies, "but this Cleopatra thing seems minor, anyway. So what if a bunch of fake amazons wanna run an island, we've got bigger fish to fry."

"We always do," he replies, looking passed her as Shayera enters the room and sits on the other side, only acknowledging Lantern with a glance as she comes through the door. Supergirl turns and notices just as she notices the sorrow in Lantern's face when she turns back to him. "Are you alright?" she says

"I'll be," he replies and then leaves. Shayera watches him go with no show of emotion then turns back to looking at the screen. Supergirl approaches her.

"You can see he's hurting," she says, "You don't have to be so…"

"It's over," Shayera says, "It's over."

"First of all, don't cut me off when I'm talking. All I was trying to…" Shayera gets up and leaves Kara in mid-sentence. Shayera stops right before walking through the door, "I didn't come back for conflict. Mind your own business and let things be. Please."

Supergirl is stunned by the subtle loudness in Shayera's voice as the others turn and watch her leave, "Then why the hell DID you come back?" Kara yells as the door closes behind Shayera. Steel restrains Supergirl as she angrily starts after Shayera.

"Kara no," he says, "After everything that happened with you and Wonder Woman in Greece (see "Days of Thunder") you don't need to get into any more fights with teammates. It's not worth it."

Supergirl decides reluctantly to let it go and join the guys for a few games of poker. Dove turns to her, "You know, gambling is an immoral practice."

"Geez," Green Arrow says, "does this kid ever shut up?"

"It might be strategy," Steel says, "He's won eight hands in a row."

Meanwhile in the training room…

"OOOF!" moans Wonder Woman as Batman's heel strikes her stomach

"I'm sure it didn't hurt nearly as much as you're making it out to," he says flipping out of the way of her punches

"Why don't you try again," she says smiling, "I'm really getting soft there. I guess I have Supergirl to thank for it."

She grabs him by his cape, but he twists and the two fall down with him on top and Diana on her back.

"Uhh!" she cries out as her head bumps the floor and her arms fling upward, then rest above her head, "It appears you have me at a disadvantage, Mr. Wayne. What are you going to do now?"

Batman rises and pulls Diana up, much to her dislike. "I didn't know you were an actress," he says

"You had me," she says

"No, I did not," he says, "You asked for this session and you turned it into a game. This room is for professionalism and as a founding member, you should…"

"Bruce, I LIKE YOU!" she says, "I've developed feelings for you! Must you be so thickheaded and anal! And how dare you try to chew me out, as many stuns as you've… oh, what is the use? I wanted to have fun with you, but when that mask in on, you are one of the most…"

"Don't say it," he cuts her off and leaves before she can finish the sentence

"Maybe I should have been serious so I could've knocked some sense into him," she thinks. Ever since their battles with Thor and Ares in Greece, Diana has assumed an attitude of forcefulness when it comes to her feelings for Batman. She figures that he'll find a way to get out of any situation she puts him in, so why not be direct; her feelings for him haven't gone away.

Since the "Days of Thunder," things have taken strange turns. Flash just got back from a leave of absence; Shayera Hol/ Hawkgirl rejoined the league, which has had both a joyous and sorrowing effect on Green Lantern, and a not so joyous effect on his new girlfriend, Vixen or on Diana. Things between Diana and Supergirl haven't improved either, despite Superman's attempts to get the two to discuss their differences, as Supergirl put it, "There's nothing to discuss." The United States government seems to be responsible for several chaotic situations that the League has had to deal with, ranging from Doomsday to a homegrown superhero team, The Ultimen. One of the Ultimen, Longshadow, has joined the League, even though his lifespan is shortened. He certainly has caught Wonder Woman's eye. Even Superman is realizing that the League can't be everywhere at once. Many of them have been helping with the tsunami relief efforts and many of them are still learning the ropes.

Back at the Watchtower…

Diana is nearly finished packing her bags as Batman enters her room. "Going somewhere?" he says already knowing the answer to his question

"There's a portal in Gotham City," she replies, "I need to get away for a while; so I decided to go and investigate."

"Gotham is MY city," he asks, "You are the most well known amazon in the world. I will deal with that myself. You could only cause trouble."

"I knew you would say that. I'm going there simply to investigate," she replies, "I'm taking my invisible jet. I will be assessing the situation, but I won't be going alone."

"Very good," he says with a grin, "I'm going with you."

"No," she says tensing up and becoming a bit angry, "I don't want you to."

"Then I'll go on my own," he replies. Diana looks at him with an expression that has defeat and helplessness written all over it. "Please Bruce," she says, "I'm not going alone. I'm taking Longshadow. He's been interested in going on patrols with me, so I am going to take him with me so he can get some hours in."

"No," Batman says, "You will not under mind me by taking"

"Who's under-minding you?" she gets a bit angry, "Or is it that someone who actually cares about me, is willing to spend time with me, wants me. Is that it, Bruce? Or is it Batman now? You pull me in and you push me out; you are hurting me and you don't even know how much. You"

"You are overreacting as usual," he replies, "Gotham is a different type of city, and Longshadow isn't ready yet. He's needs training and guidance."

"And who better than me?" she says, pleading her case, "I brought him to the League. He's my understudy; and he's a good student and a quick learner."

"How 'good' is he?" Batman says as he pulls Diana close and gazes into her sky blue eyes, "Next time you want to get my attention, do it a different way."

"Does this mean you've finally come around," she says leaning up to kiss him

"No," as he pulls away, "It means no more games. Next time you under-mind my authority in Gotham, despite you being a founding member, I will PERSONALLY reprimand you."

Diana smiles and blushes wondering how Batman could say that with a straight face. "Are you ready to leave?" she asks, giving in to the wishes of the world's greatest detective

"Do you have to ask?" he replies. As Diana leaves her room and Batman follows, he smiles as well.

It's a human sign 

_When things go wrong,_

_When the scent of her lingers_

_And temptation's strong,_

_Elton John "Sacrifice"_

He remembers her words only an hour before he left.

"John, I don't want to be with you anymore! We were never together anyway!"

He remembers her flaming hair and her angry scowl. He remembers her voice going from its indifference airy tone to the tone and anger of when she wore the mask.

"You have someone in your life now, so why don't you be with her! If I was that important to you, then you wouldn't have moved on. But you did! And so did I. I am happy you moved on!"

He remembers that she's a bad liar. He remembers back when she told him she loved him and the kiss they shared right before she left him last time. He remembers reminding her of that.

"John, you have that model, Vixen. I didn't come back for this! I came back to try to help! I don't want to go down that road again."

He remembers the tears in her eyes and the sob that came after. He remembers asking her if she still loves him.

"Does it matter, John? Please John, please John, please John. It's over. You can't trust me; you can't love me. Love her and move on."

He remembers her wings blocking him from her, hiding her tears. He remembers wondering if she stills loves him or if she ever did at all…

"John, I said I don't want to. John… back away from me, I don't want to touch you. I just want to be alone. Go to your Vixen."

He remembers going to his room early. He remembers Vixen coming to arouse him. He remembers not being in the mood.

"Bruce," Diana says as she nudges him from his sleep in the co-pilot's chair of her invisible jet. "We're here."

She'd never seen the Batman fall asleep, especially on a mission. And she realized that most people fall asleep when they're either very tired or very comfortable. And Batman doesn't get tired. As the jet sat parked on a rooftop, she sees her chance to end all of this frustration with him and his flip-flopping ways. They're the only ones on the jet. Diana gives Batman a kiss on the lips. "I'm not letting you off this jet until you admit your feelings."

"Now is not the time" he was cut off as she yanks him up with one hand

"C'mon," she says, "Test me, Batman. In order to leave this jet, you are either going to admit your feelings for me or you are going to have to best me. And you can't."

"Yes I can," he replies, "We have a mission to complete and you"

Then he stops. His eyes meet hers and they move down her body as she weakens her grip and lets him down. Every ounce of her is breathing sexuality and aggression and he is taking notice. She looks at him as he measures her up. "I know you can best me, Bruce. You already have my heart."

There's a silence before he finally gives in. He kisses her deeply and painfully as her tears begin to flow. The anger carries them both into the back where they push and struggle with each other as they hug and kiss. Batman pins Diana against the wall and stares at her. "I want to see your weakness. I want you to surrender."

"I want to see your weakness," She pushes herself off the wall and pins him against it, "I've been letting you yank me around long enough. This time, I want to win. You want to see my weakness, Bruce. Take it from me."

"Is that a challenge?" he asks, pulling his mask off

The energies inside of both could barely be contained. Both were so used to being aggressive and in control at the meetings and in combat, but secretly, both wanted to be submissive, especially Diana. But neither would get the chance as an explosion shakes the jet. Batman and Wonder Woman rush out to see what's going on. What they find is a burning building and several men dressed in trench coats running away screaming. A strawberry blonde haired man dressed in black leather is kneeling by his motorcycle with his face in his hands crying. "I'll take care of the thugs, you see about him," Batman says

"I'm on it," Diana replies as she approaches the motorcyclist, "Sir, are you alright?"

"You have to stop him!" the man screams as his voice shifts from normal to demonically deep, "He's going to kill them all! You have to do something! If he gets out again, he'll kill more than the Hulk! You have to stop him!"

Diana's eyes widen as the man grabs her by the shoulders and shakes her. "Hulk? Sir, who are you talking about? We'll protect you from him, just tell me"

"You don't understand," he says, his eyeballs are flaming and his hands feel white hot on Diana's skin "You have to kill me now before he… he…"

Batman's fist slams into the man's jaw knocking him out cold. "We'll take him to the Watchtower. And his bike."

"What about the other men?" Diana asks still shaken up, "Did you catch them?"

"One," Batman replies, "Two Face's scum. There's a gang war brewing between he and The Penguin. I see even I have been neglecting my duties here in Gotham, for the 'greater good.' The punk said that someone on a motorcycle wearing black leather with a flaming skull and flaming fists attacked them with a spiked chain. Sounds like our blonde friend here got sucked through a portal."

At an unknown location… Amanda Waller watches the satellite footage of Batman and Wonder Woman as they load the biker and the bike onto the invisible jet. "This is a very despicable turn of events. Now they have the Ghost Rider in their custody."

"The portals are the problem," Maxwell Lord says, "He came through one of those. Maybe we should let the league solve that"

"Don't you dare make such a ridiculous suggestion, Lord," Waller says, "The Justice League is a bit too strong, and we learned from the Thanagarian invasion how easily we can be taken if we aren't prepared. Too many things have gone wrong and too many lives are at risk."

"We need to cripple them before they cripple us," The General says, "Starting with that big metal hammer they've got in outer space. If it were up to me, I'd nuke that thing to kingdom come."

"But it's not up to you," Waller replies sternly, "We have a few more tricks up our sleeves for the Justice League, our new Ultimen will be active in days. The process to create another Doomsday is underway, and we have a spy in their home, though he may not know it yet. For now, meet Superboy."

Meanwhile, back at the Watchtower. Longshadow and Wonder Woman are in his quarters talking. They are both seated on his bed as he talks about his life that never was. She listens with sorrow. "However long you're here, I promise you, we will make the most of it," she says

"I've talked so much about me," he says, "But none of that really happened. Wonder Woman, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she says

"What is it like to be so powerful and yet, so in control?" he asks

"No one's ever asked me that before," Diana says giving away a slight blush

"You are so beautiful," Longshadow says, "Your eyes… I fear looking into them and once I do, I'm afraid to look away. You carry yourself with such authority but with such… I don't know."

"Thank you," she says sincerely, "I mean that. Thank you, Longshadow, I don't hear that often."

"I don't have a lot of time," he says as he kisses her on the cheek. She pulls back a bit but allows him to finish the kiss. "I'm sorry," he says in a sad tone, "I really shouldn't have done that; I hope I didn't offend you."

Diana has a look of shock on her face. Not angry shock, but surprised shock. She feels the urge to smile even though she knows she shouldn't.

"Wonder Woman," a voice over her earpiece says, "Our 'bogie' is up and running."

"Yes Batman," she says with a bit of resentment. She knows the code means that the motorcyclist, who's name according to his driver's license is Johnny Blaze, is awake in the observation room.

"It's him, isn't it?" Longshadow says, "It's Batman."

Diana stands up as does Longshadow. She looks at him with sadness and sympathy, then she hugs him tightly and presses her body against his. He feels the warmth of her body, the softness of her chest, the firmness of her belly as well as the strong grip of her arms. "We'll talk about this later. But for now, we're going to act like it didn't happen," she says reassuringly, "I have to leave. Batman is waiting."

"So am I," Longshadow says

Meanwhile in Hades…

"I want this done right," Ares says as Hades stands behind him, "I want you to kill her. There can be no mistakes. If you want to be paid, you will kill Wonder Woman."

"That's what I do," Lobo says, "Witch had da nerve to put her hands on me when all's I wanted ta do was join up with da Justice dweebs. Kill Wonder Woman, piece a'cake."

"I don't think you get it, Lobo," Ares says, "I don't just want you to kill her. I want her hunted. I want her defeated. I want her humiliated. I want her to suffer before she dies. And I want you to say my name before you finish her. I want that to be her last memory."

"Yer askin' for a lot," Lobo says smiling, "But for what yer payin' me, you gotta deal, with no extra charges. This'll be real fun."

To be continued in an upcoming story


	2. Broken Wings

Disclaimer: The Justice League is owned by DC/Warner Bros. Ghost Rider is owned by Marvel Entertainment. I've been away for a while getting ready for my graduation. I'll be getting a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.

"Brutality" part 2

"Broken Wings"

_Take these broken wings,_

_And learn to fly again _

_Learn to live so free,_

_When we hear the voices sing,_

_The book of love will open up for us_

_And let us in, yeah yeah_

Mister Mister, "Broken Wings"

Bank 1 in uptown Metropolis…

"Get that damn safe open!" Hammerhead shouts as he gestures his tommy gun at the Rhino, "We need ta get this money, see?"

"I'm doing all's I can. It must be reinforced with some sorta metal," Rhino replies, "And who made you boss o'me?"

"I'm the boss," Hammerhead says, "Because I got the gun, see?"

"You two really are two of the biggest dolts I've ever worked with," the Shocker says as he makes his way towards the safe, "If we hadn't got sucked through that black hole yesterday, I would've ditched you idiots a long time ago. Move."

Shocker begins to blast the safe while Rhino steps aside and Hammerhead keeps an eye on the hostages. "Hey Flattop!" a voice says as Hammerhead turns around, "say hello to my little friend!"

Green Arrow shoots a small arrow into the barrel of the tommy gun. "Ha!" Hammerhead says smiling, "Ya think that's gonna work, ya Peter Pan punk? And the name's Hammerhead, see?"

"Two…One," Arrow says as the arrow explodes into an alloy that freezes the gun and Hammerhead's hands to it, "Whattahellisthis? You're gonna pay for this, see?"

"You shouldn't a'come alone, Robin Hood!" Rhino says as he charges only to receive a hard fist sending him down. He looks up and sees a hole in the ceiling and Supergirl standing in front of him. "He didn't," she says, "Surrender or be taken."

"And I hope you want to be taken," the Huntress says as she emerges from the shadows

"Ditto," Vixen says as she flexes her claws

"You girls picked the wrong party to crash," The Shocker says as he charges up

"Three women and a baby," Rhino says as he rises, "I'm gonna pound ya inta dust!"

"The big guy's mine," Vixen says as she calls upon the power of a rhino and charges. Rhino, in response, grins and charges at her as well. Once again, Rhino is sent flying.

Shocker blasts away at Green Arrow and Huntress while Supergirl approaches Hammerhead who is on his knees. "Looks like you guys are going to the slammer, Hammer," she says smiling

"Oh, I gotta trick or two in store for you, see?" he responds as he rams his head into Supergirl's bare belly. The blow sends her down with a gasp. "Hah! I can rhyme too, see?"

Supergirl rises angrily and taps Hammerhead on the top of his head, sending him into the floor, with only his head exposed. She then grabs the Shocker's wrists and crushes his forearm blasters. Huntress jump kicks Shocker and proceeds to beat him from pillar to post. As Green Arrow, Vixen, and Supergirl watch, Huntress puts on an exhibition of martial arts landing multiple kicks to Shocker's jaw, chest, and abdomen as well as throwing him around the bank. "Enough," he says, "I've had enough!"

"You haven't begun to have enough," Huntress says, "Get up and face me, coward!"

"That's enough, Huntress," Green Arrow says, "You don't want to really hurt the guy."

"And what would you suggest?" she angrily says facing him and pointing her finger, "Putting him in jail so he can break out? I say let him sit in there with a few broken ribs and a fractured collarbone and then maybe he'll get the message."

"You go, girl," Vixen says smiling while Supergirl looks at them indifferently.

Supergirl carries Hammerhead, Rhino, and Shocker to the proper security personnel. Later, Supergirl falls asleep, Black Canary (who was watching the javelin while the others fought) types an incident report, and Huntress sharpens her sword while Green Arrow and Vixen are in the cockpit of the javelin. "Why didn't you and Kara help me with Huntress?"

"I didn't see anything wrong with what she did," Vixen says, "It's not what I would've done, but it's not like she was killing him. We need to be a little bit more proactive anyway. None of the big guns were around to see it."

"Speaking of them, how are things with you and Green Lantern?" he asks

"Let's not go there," Vixen says, "That's a sore topic. I'll just say this; some people do some things that should lead to an end to other things. But some people don't want them to end, even though they say they've move on and proceed to bring other people into their lives. Some people need to make up their minds."

"Okay," Green Arrow says, "You've completely lost me."

"That was the point," Vixen says

Meanwhile at the Watchtower…

"You have to killlllll meeeeeeeee!" Johnny Blaze says from inside the observation room. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Flash, and Shayera Hol are gathered outside watching

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Superman says

"Well, Bruce err Batman," Diana begins with a grin, "Batman seems to think that Blaze is possessed by some sort of demon."

"That's obvious," Flash says

"The thug I questioned described a man wearing all black leather with a flaming skull and a spiked chain," Batman says, "This has to be him."

"Innocent blood will be spilled and he will commmmeee!" Blaze continues, "You will all suffer his vengeance!"

"If you build it, they will commmmeee," Flash says, "Geez, will somebody get this guy some Prozac?"

"What are we going to do with him?" Green Lantern says

"It seems as though the very fabric of our universe is being distorted," J'onn says, "Almost as if we are merging with another universe."

"I hope it's one with a lot of babes," Flash says. Everyone looks at him. "Hey, how is that a bad thing?"

Zantanna's voice cracks in over the intercom. "You guys might want to come look at this."

All the leaguers rush off except for Shayera. She stares at Blaze as he rants and raves. "Killlll meeeee…"

"Should I give you final rest, like I gave Grundy?" she says, more to herself than to him as she looks at her mace, "Am I nothing more than a destroyer of lost souls?"

"Who are they?" Superman says angrily watching the monitor. What he's watching is a battle between villains fitting the description of the Marvel Universe's Absorbing Man and Carnage, with Bizarro, Cheetah and Giganta battling Superboy across downtown Metropolis.

"I don't know," Wonder Woman says pounding her fist into her palm, "But we're going to put them down."

"Superboy's got his hands full with the creep with the wrecking ball," Flash says, "We better get down there."

"I'll take Longshadow and we'll handle it," Wonder Woman says

Batman eyes her grimly. Diana matches his look.

"We don't have time for this," Superman says, "I'll go."

Batman smiles at Diana so that only she notices. He leaves the room.

Meanwhile, the battle rages on…

"Bizarro like new friends," Bizarro says, "Bizarro says UUUNNNNNHHH!"

Supergirl knocks Bizarro into a building,

"Hey Superdude! We got your back!" Vixen says as she kicks Carnage in the jaw

"The name's Superboy," Superboy says, "And I don't need any UNNH!"

The Absorbing Man lands a brick hard right hand to the jaw after absorbing the density of some bricks. "Pay attention, ya lousy punk!" He winds up his wrecking ball and nearly takes out Green Arrow who just barely gets out of the way. Huntress and Cheetah began to fight with Huntress avoiding Cheetah's slashes and landing repeated kicks to Cheetah's ribs. Giganta swats Supergirl to the ground right next to Superboy. Carnage slashes Vixen across the ribs, drawing blood. Carnage then attacks Huntress who has Cheetah sobbing in pain from her assault. Huntress falls to her back and kicks Carnage off. He lands on his feet and turns to face her. "You wanna fight, little girl. I don't fight; I kill."

"Then come on, MONSTER!" she angrily replies and charges him pulling out her sword.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" both Huntress and Carnage fall to their knees as Black Carnary's sonic scream separates Carnage from his symbiote long enough for Huntress to recover and knock him out. "Now for that bastard with the wrecking ball."

"Hey are you okay," Supergirl says as she stands up over Superboy. His eyes are even with her chest

"I think I need some mouth to mouth," he says

"Excuse me?" Supergirl says frowning but also giving away a huge blush

Superboy looks down nervously, "I was chest choking…err I mean just joking cough"

(that single line came from a comic book I have where Superboy said that to Supergirl, I couldn't resist using it here)

Vixen calls upon the power of the elephant and charges Giganta, knocking her leg out from under her, but Giganta steadies herself as Supergirl flies up to meet her. However, Supergirl is cut of by a blur of black hair and blue stars as Wonder Woman knocks Giganta down with a left hook to the jaw. She lands right ontop of the Absorbing Man. Supergirl looks at Diana with spite, but the now present Superman yells out, "Kara, take care of Bizarro!"

The Absorbing Man crawls out from under Giganta and absorbs the matter of the concrete ground into his left arm. He swings at Huntress, who ducks him and slices his arm off with her sword. The Absorbing Man passes out from the sheer sight of his concrete arm split in half, but Huntress stands over him. "Beast! Now we'll see if you can absorb my steel!"

A hand is placed on Huntress' shoulder. She spins around only to see that it's Batman. He doesn't even have to say a word and she lowers her sword and walks away. Wonder Woman lands beside him. "Where did Superman go?" Batman asks

"I'm quite sure he can take care of himself," Diana replies

"If you believe that, then I'll have to give you a physical examination when we get back to the Watchtower, Princess," Batman says with no emotion in his voice whatsoever

"Very subtle," Diana replies grinning, "I like that."

Batman turns and walks away.

Not too far from where the battle rages an interested observer watches…

"Hush little Wonder wench don't say a word, poppa's gonna buy you a mocking bird," Lobo sings deeply as he bites down on his lip enough to draw his own blood, "And if that mocking bird don't fly, poppa's gonna cut yer throat an' yer gonna die."

He moves his eyes down Wonder Woman curvaceous body from afar and licks his bloody lips

"Enjoy the fun, Dirty Diana," he says growling lustfully, "You an' I are gonna have some real fun real soon. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Superman's superhearing picks up a presence from around the corner. He uses his x-ray vision to see through the building and find a group of what appear to be three soldiers and what appears to be a small tank. He flies around the corner.

"We have the situation under control," he says, "Call for extra support and you can take them into custody."

One of the soldiers walks forward. He's wearing all black with a blood red beret and he bares a resemblance to the younger version of Revolver Ocelot from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (short blonde hair, blue eyes, cocky smile, skinny frame). "I don't think we'll be needing any extra support. Tyler…"

With that, a blonde-haired woman with two braided ponytails who bares a resemblance to Cammy from the Street Fighter video games throws a kryptonite net over Superman while the tank silently blasts him with a ray that increases his gravity. He's caught completely off guard and goes down instantly. "All that equipment we brought," a dark-haired man says who bares a slight resemblance to Zartan from G.I. JOE, "And he barely put up a fight."

"He's just another arrogant male, Jacques," Tyler says, "You should feel quite at home back at the base with him. The mighty Superman, beaten."

The skinny blonde man speaks into a commlink, "Objective Complete. Get us out of hear."

With that, a boom portal opens and they all disappear.

Back at the Watchtower…

Shayera now sits inside the holding cell with Johnny Blaze. She's been listening to him rant and rave and now she is holding her mace by her side, considering an end to this. "What are you doing, Shayera?" Green Lantern says from behind, "You know you're not supposed to be in there with him."

"He's in so much pain," she replies, "Look at him, he's in agony!"

"What about my pain?" John says growing a bit angry, "He's possessed!"

"John, I don't have time for this," Shayera says facing him

"When do you ever?" he replies

Shayera attacks him swinging her mace with controlled aggression. John blocks her swings with a ring shield, but Shayera smashes through it. John goes down but pulls Shayera down ontop of him and the two kiss passionately. John reaches around and presses Shayera's body down ontop of him. She goes with it and forces herself on him. Tears began to flow from her eyes and John forces the mace from her hand, interlocking her fingers with his. "I was never a match for your aggressive style," he says as she pins him down.

"Hey John I heard you were…" Vixen stops in the doorway and looks in hurt and disbelief. Most women under these circumstances might just walk away. Some may even run away crying. Not Vixen. She cracks Shayera with a hard right hand to the jaw, knocking Shayera off of John. She then jump kicks Shayera in the throat. Shayera rams into Johnny Blaze who falls to the ground. Vixen moves in quickly before Flash tackles her. "You and this skank," she says, "In the damn holding cell!"

"I-I can explain," John says

"Explain it after I kick this red-headed stepchild's UUNNHH!" Shayera lands a grazing right hand to the Vixen's jaw. The punch rocks Vixen and Flash both as Vixen breaks free of Flash's grip only to find a wall of green energy between she and Shayera. "That's enough!" John says facing Vixen, "Now please let me explain!"

"I don't want to hear any of your damn explanations," she says slowly starting to calm herself. John expected to be slapped, but Vixen just walks right past him and leans over Flash, who is still sitting on the ground. "And you held me," she says, "You held me for her!"

"Looks like we're both in the doghouse," Flash says. Green Lantern can only reply with a solemn sneer. What could he say? It's his fault.

Vixen storms out walking right between the watching Wonder Woman and Batman, who had just arrived to the containment cell. She fights back tears as she goes down the hallway. She remembers the words of her mentor, "Never let them see you cry." She goes into the recreational room and pulls Supergirl away from her giddy-eyed conversation with Fire and Ice about Superboy. "He's so cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute…" were her last words before being yanked. Shayera leaves next, but as she leaves, Wonder Woman blocks her path and stares her down. Shayera looks at Diana with a hint of "I can beat you" in her eyes. Diana grins.

"Diana," Batman says softly and Diana reluctantly lets Shayera go by.

Wonder Woman's quarters a little later…

Batman and Wonder Woman. Bruce and Diana. Locked in an embrace across her bed and kissing passionately. Bruce is still unsure about whether what he's doing is best for him or Diana but he has developed deep feelings for her. Their conversation prior to their hugging and kissing dealt with a variety of issues ranging from Diana's value of her virginity to Bruce's mortality and Diana's immortal beauty. But Diana makes sure that the subject of Longshadow doesn't come up. Their love seems like it isn't meant to be. Every piece of evidence that the world's greatest detective presents to himself points towards a failure. A relationship like this is too risky; she could get hurt. He's lost so many, mom and dad, Jason Todd, Harvey Dent. He couldn't bear to lose her. So why is he in her arms? He doesn't bother to even try to explain it to himself. He just gives in.

The Watchtower cafeteria…

"Hey," Shayera says as she approaches the table. The cafeteria is practically empty, at least this one is, except the group sitting at this table. That group is made out of Huntress, Black Canary, Supergirl and Vixen. On one of the many television screens is a commercial promoting Lex Luthor's presidency and a speech he will be giving in Gotham City tomorrow. "I need to speak to you, Vixen," Shayera says, "Alone."

"Get the hell away from me," Vixen says not even looking up

"I only wanted to apologize," Shayera responds with no emotion

"Apologize?" Vixen says jumping to her feet, "Kara, hold my earrings. I don't wanna get blood on them!"

Supergirl, Huntress, and Black Canary rise. Black Canary stands there, shocked by what she's witnessing, Supergirl blocks Vixen, and Huntress approaches Shayera. "You heard the woman," Huntress says, "Leave."

"I'm a founding member," Shayera says, "I hold the authority."

"Oh, now you are?" Supergirl asks sarcastically, still holding back Vixen

"Well," Huntress says pulling her sword and slicing a line into the floor between she and Shayera, "Your jurisdiction ends here."

Shayera stares at the four women before turning to walk away. Huntress laughs out loud.

"Don't worry, Vix," Supergirl says turning towards Shayera and yelling, "She isn't WORTH it!"

Somewhere on earth…

The pain is excruciating, but yet he takes it. Pain to break the mightiest of wills, pain to shatter the mightiest of spirits. He feels the invasion of his mind by thoughts of pure hatred. It won't stop, it never stops. He feels so weak, but as his hatred grows, so does his power. He lets out a primal scream. Steel hearts are broken and steel wills are bent. But for this man of steel, the beginning of his end may be at hand.

Back at the Watchtower…

"I saw him at the containment facilities," Longshadow says, "He is a threat to us all!"

"I don't have the slightest idea what Chief Bonkers is talking about," Superboy says. In the main lobby are many of the league members, but most notably, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Flash, Supergirl, Vixen, Power Girl, Huntress, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Steel. "We should be trying to find Superman," Superboy says

"We should be putting YOU in a holding cell," Longshadow says, "I SAW you. I remember; you were there too!"

"Hey, whoa dude, me smokem peace pipe or whatever. True enough, I am a clone," Superboy says, "That much you got right. But all this stuff about me being a threat is pure bull."

"LIAR!" Longshadow says. He turns to Wonder Woman and Batman, "Superboy cannot be trusted. I saw him at the facilities. He is a part of this."

"You did kinda show up here out of nowhere, pal," Flash says, "We thought you were dead."

"Yeah well, Flash my old buddy," Superboy replies, "I got better. But I don't really remember how."

"Well," Batman says, "We will let J'onn read your mind."

"He hasn't done anything wrong and I say he stays!" Supergirl says

"You have no say," Diana responds getting a bit testy, "We are the senior members and you defer to us!"

"Well the senior member I defer to is missing!" Kara shouts, "We're leaving! We're going to find Superman because obviously, you people could care less! Superboy, you're with us!"

Supergirl, Vixen, Huntress, and Superboy start for the door, but Diana blocks Supergirl. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Power Girl, and Steel look on as Diana says, "You are going nowhere. There's already enough confusion here and enough league members in the field. We will find Superman; Batman has the Question investigating as we speak."

Supergirl balls up her fists, "You must want to play tummy tag again. I'm not in the mood for this. Move."

An alarm sounds and all turn to the big screen. Batman's jaw drops as he watches Doomsday destroy an entire city block with by yanking a gas line up from the ground. An entire block of Gotham City. His city. He storms to one of his two-seater bat-planes and takes off from the Watchtower with hardly a word to Wonder Woman, who jumps into the passenger seat.

"We've got to get down there and take out Doomsday!" Supergirl says as she, Vixen, Power Girl, Superboy, Longshadow, and Flash board a javelin and take off. Green Arrow, Black Canary, Martian Manhunter and the other leaguers who aren't in the main lobby stay as backup. "Green Lantern is already engaging Doomsday," J'onn says to Batman's commlink, "He went to Gotham to cover Luthor's speech."

Liz Gomez was just working her late afternoon shift on the Watchtower. Perfect maid's job, cleaning, making up messy beds, etc. She always knew her life was in danger, but she believed in the league. She never even blinked when the bomb went off. The bombs, complex and unique as they were, were compounds that had an explosive reaction to water. Their makers created them in the forms of a bunch of blue toilet cleaning disks. And every toilet in the third floor bathroom had a bomb in it. She survived the explosion, but all it takes is a little blood.

The containment cell… Shayera Hol could hear and feel the entire Watchtower rock with the explosion of the planted bombs, but what she saw next shocked her into horror. She grabbed her mace and readied herself. Johnny Blaze's body had caught on fire. "Innocence blood… innocent bloooooood…" the flesh began to burn off his skin and his bones were ablaze with white fire. His head began a flaming, smiling, laughing skull. He became Ghost Rider.

"Innocent blood has been spilled," Ghost Rider says, "Vengeance is MINE!"

TO BE CONTINUED…


	3. Perceptions

The Justice League is owned by DC/Warner Bros. All Marvel characters are owned by Marvel Entertainment. All others are considered in the public domain.

"Brutality" part 3

"Perceptions"

"Tonight on WDDL news, more on the capture of Clayface by the mysterious hero known as Daredevil. Who is Gotham City's latest masked crime fighter and is the city big enough for both he and the Batman? More on this at…"

"—but the bodies of the children were so mutilated, they could only be identified through dental records. This discovery moves the total death count to nine. And still, police have no leads in the case of this child killer, who refers to himself as the Pied Piper. In a possibly related story, Portia Renaldi, the four-year-old daughter of famed Italian compser Victor Renaldi, is now missing. Her father was here for a special concert to benefit AIDS research and vows…"

"—makes you wonder what the hell they're doing up in that big hunk of junk in the sky when there are child killers and monsters down here on Earth. I'm voting for Luthor; he'll straigten 'em out."

"—despite the assassination, the Red Sox still managed to win, forcing a game seven at Yankee Stadium. No one truly knows what happened in Senator Carter's suite, however, some witnesses claim to have seen a black-haired woman wearing all red and carrying two sais leaving through a ventilation shaft. President Bush released this statement…"

"—Lara owns five mansions and was taught the art of being a lady in English etiquette classes. However, Ms. Croft says that her true passion in life is searching for lost artifacts and adventuring. Next on It's Good To Be Lara Croft, Lara gives us a private tour of her spacious…"

"—even after the little duck man, who claims his name is Howard by the way, was removed from the stage screaming profanity by Luke Cage, hero for hire turned Britney's bodyguard, Britney refused to go back on and finish her set. Destiny's Child also pulled out after the incident. But luckily, fans were treated to a three-hour set of Alicia Keys, who was joined on stage by good friend, Christina Aguilera who was originally there only to make a guest appearance. Britney was heavily criticized for walking out, especially after she insisted that she go on stage last, instead of Aretha Franklin, who the concert was in honor of. Cindy Lauper had harsh words for Britney's backstage conduct before the show, saying 'She acted like a little b…"

"—shows Bush's approval rating continues to drop as both Kerry and Luthor gain ground. Nader, however, is still right around two percent. Luthor is scheduled to make a speech in Gotham City tomorrow… wait! What's that? We're going to go to Tom Dailey who's in Gotham City, where the Justice League is battling a monster. And losing…"

Perceptions. Watch a bunch of television screens through the window of a Gotham City Radioshak and you'll get plenty of them. The Justice League has thrust itself into battle against the US Government created monster, Doomsday. Already, Batman crashed his bat-jet into Doomsday, but to with no effect. Wonder Woman has hit the beast with her hardest blows and Supergirl has blasted him with her hottest beams, but both have been plucked away. To the league's credit, Green Lantern has managed to circle off the battle zone from the rest of the city, but as the battle rages on, the perceptions of the onlookers are that the league has trapped themselves in a cage with death.

"We have to keep on him," Vixen says, "Don't lose focus!"

"I'm with you girl!" Supergirl says as Vixen channels the power of the elephant and she and Supergirl charge Doomsday. Doomsday kicks Vixen in the stomach, sending her flying away with an "OOOOOOOF!" and wraps his fist around Supergirl's head.

"NO!" Diana screams as she attacks. Doomsday responds by grabbing Diana's head inside his fist and slamming she and Supergirl together and dropping them. Batman rushes to Diana's aid but can only manage to pull Supergirl out of the way as Doomsday does a jumping stomp, landing on Diana's stomach and grinding his foot deep into the agonizing Amazon. Suddenly, Superboy emerges from the rubble, lifting Doomsday off the ground. "Thought you had me beat, ugly?" Superboy says angrily as he tosses Doomsday to the ground.

Longshadow grows in height. "How would you like a taste of your own medicine?"

He steps on Doomsday and grinds him into the ground.

"Good job, Tonto," Superboy says, "Looks like that's a wrap."

Of course, the other leaguers know better. Doomsday emerges from the top of Longshadow's boot, breaking bones. "ARRRGH!" comes from both the pained Longshadow and the angry Doomsday.

Green Lantern kneels by Vixen, who is channeling the power of the snake to correct her shattered ribs and broken spine. "Are you okay?" he says genuinely concerned

"Don't act like you care," she says and rushes back into battle. Batman is looking after Wonder Woman. "J'onn," he says into his commlink, "We don't have enough to even contain him, we need back-up."

"We need to get him away from the main city," Diana says, "I'll do it!"

"Diana, no!" Batman says as Wonder Woman flies into Doomsday and tries to batter him back with punches, but he doesn't even budge. Supergirl joins her. The two synchronizing their punches, manage to make the monster give ground.

"Ladies," Superboy says, lifting Doomsday by the seat of his pants with one finger, "Allow me!"

Using his tactile telekinesis (which allows him to lift anything he touches), Superboy tosses Doomsday a mile outside of Gotham City.

"That was real smart kid," Green Lantern says, "Now we'll have to hunt for him!"

"Hey, I was just trying to help," Superboy replies

Flash disappears then reappears. "I found him."

Wonder Woman turns to Supergirl, "Thanks for the save back there."

"Just paying you back for saving me earlier," Kara replies, "But it changes nothing between us. Once this is over, I'm going to find Kal. With or without the Justice League."

Watchtower containment cell…

Shayera didn't even think about it. The pure horror of it all made her attack. Only minutes ago, Johnny Blaze's skin burned off his bones to reveal the Ghost Rider. Shayera swung her mace with all her might, only to miss and find herself backhanded to the ground.

"Do not stand in the way, woman," Ghost Rider says, "Innocent blood has been spilled. I will not rest until I have my vengeance."

"I'm not letting you out of hear!" Shayera says as she swings her mace at Ghost Rider's head. He dodges it, grabs the handle, and throws Shayera into the wall. "You speak as though you can stop me," he replies and begins to walk out, "I am Ghost Rider, the living spirit of vengeance. Nothing can stop me until vengeance is mine."

Ghost Rider leaves the containment cell, but is met by Fire and Ice. Fire blasts him with no effect. "I am made of pure hellfire," he says laughing, "Your foolish attempts fall short!"

He pushes both of them aside and makes his way towards the hangar. "Stay out of this," Shayera says, "I let him out and I'll take care of it. He's too dangerous!"

"It's either help you with him or fight Doomsday, Hawkgirl," Ice says

"Doomsday?" Shayera says, "The League needs me! We have to take down Ghost Rider so we can help the League!"

Shayera, Fire and Ice quickly catch up with Ghost Rider at the hanger. "Okay Skeletor," Ice says, "Come along nicely!"

Shayera faces Ghost Rider. "You will not leave," she says

"Really?" he replies. Fire and Ice are knocked down by Ghost Rider's big black motorcycle as it leaves a trail of flames in its wake. "NO!" shouts Shayera as she attacks him. He grabs her by her throat. "You are very powerful, but very foolish," he says staring at her, "Perhaps, you can be of use to me."

He invokes his Penance Stare. Shayera is instantly under his control. "Your will is broken too easily, child," he says, "Come!"

"Not so fast, baldy!" Ice says but Shayera jumpkicks her in the jaw and backfists Fire across the cheek. Both women go down as stunned as they are shocked.

With that, Ghost Rider opens the hanger gates and drives his motorcycle off the deck and into space. Shayera puts on an oxygen helmet and follows.

"How are we going to explain this to Martian Manhunter?" Ice says

"I already know," J'onn says telepathically, "The main problem is Doomsday. Get to the transportation disks; you both are going to help in Gotham City."

Elsewhere…

His pain. His hate. But is he meant for hate? Is he meant for pain? All he has felt the passed few hours, which, to him are an eternity, are hate and pain. He can resist no longer his desire to hate. To hurt. No more moral resistance. He understands now. It is his destiny to make the world right by making evil suffer. He is mankind's savior. He is ready…

Off to the side, Amanda Waller stands next to a shadowy figure. "I don't like the looks of this," she says

"You don't have to," the shadow says, "everything is going according to plan."

"The election is coming up," she responds, "The Justice League is still active and Luthor is gaining momentum in the polls. If Luthor is elected and finds out about this operation…"

"Let me deal with Luthor," the shadow replies, "And," it says pointing at the man suffering from pain and hate, "we'll let him deal with the Justice League. His training and transformation are complete. Release him. It is time."

Gotham City…

The added presences of Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Steel, Huntress, Elastic Man, Plastic Man, Zantana, Green Arrow and Black Canary are not making much of a difference against Doomsday. He seems unstoppable and he has put many of them down. The mist of fire and gas has made it difficult for the leaguers to find one another as the monster's rampage continues. Batman is catering to the wounded and Wonder Woman is fighting Doomsday alone now. Her knuckles are bleeding profusely as she lands deathblow after deathblow, but to no avail. Doomsday lands a crushing uppercut to Diana's stomach, and rock hard abs turn to jelly as she gasps and drops to one knee semi-conscious. As he lifts his hand up for the final blow, "Not so fast, ya ugly bastich!" Lobo says as he nails Doomsday from behind, "She's my kill! Ya can't have her, ya ERRRKK!"

Doomsday grabs Lobo by the throat and throws him down. Lobo is up quickly and pulls his knife and chain, "Now THIS is my kinda fight!"

At that very moment, Ghost Rider and his bike slam into Doomsday from above while Shayera attacks Doomsday with her mace. From the burning effects of entering Earth's atmosphere, Ghost Rider's bike temporarily became a fireball. "Nice bike," Lobo says, "My work here is done. Geez, an' I thought I was ugly!"

Lobo picks up the dazed Wonder Woman and carries her off to the side. He caresses her in his arms and sniffs her hair before cutting a small lock of it for his own. Then he leaves her on the ground and fades into the shadows.

Lex Luthor has been in his hotel room for quite some time. No statements to the media just yet. Not until he ties his tie, puts on his cologne and makes his way to the site of the fight. He hears a gunshot, the scream of his bodyguard Chastity, and the sound of his door opening. He grabs his gun only to turn and face a woman with blood red hair to match her blood red uniform with black trim. She's holding a large machine gun and has eyes without pupils. "Who are you?" he says

She touches him and he drops instantly. He feels like he's starving to death. She smiles. A man walks in behind her. He looks to be nearly seven feet tall and wearing a black mask with tubes leading from the back of his head to a device on his right forearm. "Bane," Luthor says, "What in God's name happened to you?"

What Luthor is referring to are the large splotches of reddish black sores all over Bane's visible skin. A hooded man walks in between them. He removes his hood. It's Ra's Al Ghul.

"Forgive Fatale; she has a famine-izing effect on people. Lex Luthor," he says, "my master has a message for you…"

Gotham City…

Batman kneels beside Diana. "Diana," he says, "wake up."

"Bruce," she says slowly, "Is Doomsday beaten? Did we win?"

"Not yet," he replies, "Rest. You've done your part."

"Batman," Longshadow says, "Zantana needs you. I'll take care of Wonder Woman."

He knows that under most circumstances, he'd be forming a strategy or giving the other leaguers directions. Diana would have to use her own discretion. This is HIS city; HIS people are in danger… but all that matters is her. Her safety. He can't lose another. "I'll take Wonder Woman with me," Batman says, "She's too close to the warzone."

"Hey Hothead!" Superboy says as he joins Ghost Rider, "Welcome to the party!"

"You!" Ghost Rider says as he moves passed Superboy and looks at Longshadow, "You are the one!"

Ghost Rider removes one of his gloves to reveal a bony hand flaming with hellfire. He places it on Longshadow's face and Longshadow screams. Diana leaps to her feet only to have Shayera block her way. "He's KILLING him!" Diana screams, "MOVE!"

Diana manages to throw Shayera out of the way just as Ghost Rider is letting go of Longshadow. Longshadow's face resembles silly puddy, but he is alive. "Vengeance has been served," Ghost Rider says, "But more blood has been spilled. The monster! His doomsday has come!"

"Leave it to me," a voice from above says. In a blur of blue and red, something hits Doomsday hard enough to tear him in half. Supergirl's swollen face smiles in joy as a stone-faced red-eyed Superman hovers over the battlefield. He uses his heat vision to incinerate the remains of Doomsday. "This fight is over," Superman says to Batman, "Clean up and report back to the Watchtower."

"He's never talked to you like that," Diana says

"I know," Batman says, "This is not good."

Back at the Watchtower, the next few hours were a blur. The injured league members went to receive medical attention. Longshadow is in a holding cell after surveillance cameras show that he planted the bombs. He insists that he didn't know what happened, which prompted J'onn to do a mind scan on him. Turns out every time he falls asleep, he undergoes a form of mind control that led to him planting the bombs. Despite Diana's rebuttals, he is under watch. Ghost Rider is free to roam the halls of the Watchtower, despite many leaguers disapproval. Surprisingly, Superman insisted on it. Shayera came out of her hypnosis, but some, like Diana, are once again questioning her commitment.

Diana lands a right cross that sends Shayera flying into the wall of the Watchtower training room. "Is that the best you can do, Hawkgirl?" she says. She flies in on Shayera and gives her a double-fisted shot to both sides of her ribs. "UNNNH!"

Shayera manages to hook her arm around Diana's neck and sends a few uppercuts into Diana's stomach just above her Wonder-navel. Diana makes no noise, but the sound of the fist hitting her abs only makes Shayera want more. "I'll take my piece of you," she says, "Win, lose or draw!"

Diana pries herself free. "Oh, you won't be winning!" she says and hits Shayera with a combination of punches to her bare stomach, sending the winged woman down from the air groaning and gasping. Diana lands and kicks Shayera in the chest, "UUUFFF!" a blatant sign of disrespect because it is said that women don't hit each other in the chest. "That shouldn't have hurt," she says, "Since you have NO HEART!"

Diana lifts Shayera up by her throat, "I trusted you; we all trusted you," she says, "I can deal with you being here, but Longshadow would never have been hurt and a lot of teammates would be fine if it wasn't for you letting Ghost Rider get loose. I could care less about what's going on with you and John, but it does say something about your character. You are a troublemaker and I will not turn my back on you again."

With that, Diana drops Shayera, stares the weakened Hawkgirl down, and turns to walk away. Shayera has tears rolling out of her eyes as she watches Diana go. As Diana gets about five feet from the door, she feels a terrible pain in her back, "ARRRRRRRGGGHH!" she screams and turns around. The second shot from the mace hits her in the stomach, one of the spikes cuts her costume and her navel. "HEEEEEUUUNNNFFF!" Shayera pushes her up against the wall and Diana goes down. Shayera steps on Diana's stomach pressing her heel down on her navel. "Does that turn you on? Is that what Batman likes?" She says as she lifts up her mace, "I could kill you if I wanted to. You just said you weren't going to turn your back on me and look at you."

Diana could only look and listen in pain and disbelief as Shayera points her mace at her. "I AM your teammate, whether you like it or not. You're stronger than me; you're faster than me, and you're a better fighter. I admit that. But winning is everything to you and I just beat you because I'm willing to cheat. Remember this and back off."

"This isn't over," Diana says. Shayera presses her foot down on Diana's stomach harder causing her to moan a bit. "It is for now," she replies and walks out. Vixen was watching the whole time and feels her own spirit drop a tad.

Wonder Woman's quarters a bit later…

"She must feel like she's on top of the world," Diana says to Bruce, "No sense of honor whatsoever."

"Are you hurt?" he says

"I've got a stomachache," Diana replies, "but other than that, all that hurting is my pride. She humiliated me. But she did NOT beat me."

"I think I can help with the stomachache," he says as he slips his hand under her nightshirt, "but your pride, well, I'm sure that will come back."

"Of course it will; I'm practically invincible and unbeatable," she says moaning as Bruce touches her sensitive stomach, "I want a baby."

"Where did that come from?" Bruce says puzzlingly. Diana kisses him deeply on the lips. "Bruce, I think I'm in love with you."

They both pause. Bruce gets up and gets ready to leave. "Don't do this to me," Diana says, "Don't leave me like this."

"Diana," he says, "We… I just…"

"What?" she says, her eyes tearing up preparing to hear the worst again

"I think I'm falling in love with you too," he says, "I don't want to lose you. I don't ever want to see you in pain. You are starting to mean more to me than anything. Like today with Doomsday. And I think that's the problem."

"Problem?" she says, "Bruce, I can take care of myself. You need to stop analyzing everything and just go with the…"

At that moment, in Batman's earpiece, he hears a voice he didn't expect to hear.

"Batman," the voice says, "I hacked into your earpiece. None of the league know. I must speak with you immediately. Meet me here in Gotham. I'll contact you. It's urgent that I speak to you. I have important information about some things."

"Luthor," Bruce says angrily

"What about him?" Diana says, "Don't change the subject!"

"I have to go," Bruce says as he puts on his cape and cowl and leaves. As he reaches the hangar, Superman's voice is heard over the intercom, "Going somewhere?" he says

"Wouldn't you like to know," Batman says with a sense of humor hiding suspicion

"Just be careful, Batman," Superman says

Egypt…

Ra's Al Ghul kneels before a hulking shadowy figure.

"RISE RA'S AL GHUL," the shadow says, "YOU'VE DONE WELL. THE HUMANS ARE TOO STUPID TO REALIZE THAT THEY HAVE SIGNED THEIR WORLD TO ME. ONCE MY STRENGTH REGAINS, I SHALL CRUSH THEM ALL!"

"Master," Ra's says, "What of the remaining horsemen? Surely they can handle the so-called Justice League."

"YES," the shadow responds laughing, "WAR MAY HAVE FAILED ME, BUT THAT WAS MY INTENTION. FAMINE AND PESTILENCE ARE READY FOR MY ORDERS, AND DEATH IS AMONG THE JUSTICE LEAGUE NOW. MY FOUR HORSEMEN WILL SERVE ME WELL AND I SHALL RULE FOREVER. IT IS MY DESTINY."

To be continued…


	4. Face of the Demon

Justice League Unlimited is owned by Warner Bros./DC. All other characters, Marvel Image or others are owned by their respective owners. Guys, it's been a while! There have been plenty of things that have kept me on the shelf and away from this story but once I start something, I always finish it. I started working on this chapter in the late summer of 2005, but Hurricane Katrina (I am from New Orleans) seemed to take the desire out of me. The show's ending also had an effect on me. This is the second part of a trilogy that I am working on. The trilogy started with the story "Days of Thunder," but you don't necessarily have to read that story to be able to follow this one. So, nearly three years later, a Bachelor's in Criminal Justice, a best friend's death, and a near completion of a Master's in English Arts, I am resuming. I've gotten numerous emails asking me to continue this story or to resume "Sisterhood" and I am very appreciative of the support over the dead three years. I just have been through so much. It may take me a while to get my swing and style of writing for something like this back, but I'm sure that I still have it. Especially since I have my Justice League DVDs. All apologies!

Batwing Journal Entry 4770: My thoughts have never been so clouded and my judgment has never been so off. I've never run from anything since I put on the mask, since I became the night. Lex Luthor is an evil, self-centered tactician. He is the damning force behind the fall of the Justice League and the rise of the Justice Lords. He will be making a speech condemning the league in a few hours in Gotham City. My City. But I run to him to avoid my feelings. My feelings for someone else. Someone who should only be a teammate. Someone who… someone who… someone who I love.

The situation with the portals is growing worse as well. J'onn warned us that we may be merging with another universe. I don't even want to think about the effects and ramifications of something that climatic. There are so many heroes in Metropolis and in Gotham now, that some evildoers have decided to relocate. My trip to see Luthor has taken longer than expected. I had to make a stop in New York. It turns out the Boston Red Sox pulled off the upset over the Yankees and won the series. The score was so lopsided, that fans started throwing objects onto the field at the players. Then the drunken masses decided to riot after the game. And then the Scarecrow decided to release fear toxic on the crowd, making matters worse. The anti-terror task forces at Yankee Stadium were able to supply plenty of gas masks, but not nearly enough to stop the madness. So the riot police arrived. But capturing the Scarecrow was a different matter completely. The Scarecrow manipulates fear, but I am fear. That's where I come in, or rather, that's where I was supposed to come in. I found an unconscious Scarecrow a few blocks from the stadium hanging from a lamppost. He was covered in some sort of synthetic webbing with a note attached to his chest. The note said, "TO NEW YORK'S FINEST, COURTESY OF YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD…"

"Brutality" part 4

"Face of the Demon"

"All our times have come,

We're staring down the red gun,

Romeo and Juliet,

Are together for eternity,

We can be like they are,

C'mon baby,

Don't fear the reaper,

Baby take my hand,

Don't fear the reaper,

Baby I will fly,

Don't fear the reaper,

Baby I'm your man…"

-Blue Oyster Cult, "Don't Fear the Reaper"

One of the lobbies in The Watchtower…

"Oh really?" Wonder Woman says as she balls up her fists, "You have no business being here after what you did! And if you speak to me like that again, I'm going to—"

"Woman," Ghost Rider says coldly, "What you do is as of little concern to me as what you say. You approached me and began to annoy me. I had no control over the actions of your 'teammate' Longshadow, but my vengeance will be quenched, and it has been… for now. If you attack me, I will defend myself, and you will be silenced. Maybe, what is the mortal saying? Ah yes, I remember now…maybe it's 'your time of the month.'"

Wonder Woman pushes Ghost Rider back a few feet using only her index finger and says, "Consider yourself attacked!!"

Ghost Rider's chain forms in his fists as he stares at Wonder Woman who assumes her fighting stance. "I will not fight you," he says, "I sense a great deal of confusion in you over something unrelated to me and I will not be used as an instrument of your anger over the actions of another. I battle only to avenge innocents. You are a great warrior and one true of heart; our conflict is unnecessary. But your arrogance and carelessness may one day lead to your undoing if you are not careful."

Diana lowers her fists and looks down. That one hurt. It seems like she can't cover up her pain using a façade of amazon aggression. Ghost Rider walks away leaving Diana alone in the lobby. She feels naked; not physically, but emotionally, like everyone can see she's hurting inside. Batman's departure has left Diana more vulnerable and more confused than ever. She wishes she could be with him. With him so that she can strangle him perhaps, nah, she wouldn't do that. Diana is a woman who is used to straightforward, 'get to the point' communication; Batman is different. And in trying to learn that difference, she's found herself at dead end after dead end after dead end. The moment Batman left her, she went to her closet, put on her uniform, and stormed off looking for anyone she could irritate into a fight. That's not who she is; that's not what she stands for. She goes to the main conference room and approaches J'onn. Superman is nearby with Supergirl standing next to him gazing at the stars.

"I'm going on a patrol," Diana says, "I was wondering if I could take Longshadow with me."

"It's too dangerous," J'onn says, "Longshadow is under observation until we can find out how to reverse what Cadmus has done to him."

"And how long will that be?" Diana says, "Or are you too busy portal-watching?"

J'onn looks at her with some offense.

"I'm sorry," Diana says sighing, "I am out of line. Things have been rough for me lately, J'onn. Forgive me."

"I understand," J'onn says, "Apology accepted but still, I must reject your request."

"Let her take him," Superman says

"What?" J'onn replies

"Wonder Woman can take care of herself," Superman says with not a shred of emotion in his voice, "Let her take him."

Superman pats Wonder Woman on the shoulder as she goes to Longshadow's holding cell and retrieves him. J'onn gives Superman a look of disapproval, but Superman pays it no mind.

"Is there a reason why you did that?" J'onn says

"Why don't you read my mind and find out," Superman replies smiling, "She looks like she needs to get out. So, let her get out."

Supergirl grins, "How's our ground team going Kal?"

"They're doing fine," Superman replies, "I see our bogey coming into position now."

"What ground team?" J'onn says

"I've come to suspect some things," Superman says, "While I was away, a lot was revealed to me about certain people's intentions and true alliances, but I have to be absolutely sure before we can move on them. So, you could say I'm doing a little 'detective work.'"

J'onn exits the room trying to hide the look of fear that is engulfing his face while Superman and Supergirl laugh out loud and continue to watch the stars. Superman turns and looks at Kara. "Kara, I have a job for you to do as well."

Lex Luthor's presidential suite at the downtown Marriot in Gotham City…

"It's about time you got here," Luthor says with his back turned, "You bypassed all the security just as I expected."

"Don't move," Batman says, "Talk."

"Well," Luthor says, "I understand that your Justice League is having problems with Cadmus. But I've learned that humanity is in grave danger."

"When is humanity not in danger?" Batman says, "Get to the point, Luthor. I'm beginning to think you're stalling me."

"On the wall behind that painting there is a disk," he says, "It has all the information on Cadmus. It contains all their bases, their weapons, their codes, everything. It's something I 'borrowed."

Batman gets the disk. "Why are you giving this to me? What's your stake in this? If you want my vote, you aren't going to get it."

"You're the only one I can trust," Luthor says, "We have to get out of here; go someplace where we can really talk. Batman, this is big, bigger than either of us could imagine."

Batman senses the fear in Luthor's voice and knows there may be truth to his words. But Luthor still isn't telling him anything. Batman senses an uneasiness in the air and looks around very cautiously. There are so many things that are not right about this situation, and chief among them is Luthor's behavior. Batman knows Luthor, not only as Batman, but as Bruce Wayne, a rival of sorts in business dealings. Luthor has always exuded a coolness and a sarcastic stoicism. This is one of the few things that Batman would admit the two have in common. But now, he's shaking and sweating… what could this be about? What could make Lex lose it?

"Don't you see?" Lex says angrily, "We have to leave!! You've brought them here… they've been watching us the whole time!! I have a contact in London; you must go and meet with her and she will lead you… you MUST end this… the fate of the world is at stake… and don't trust anyone!"

"That's not so hard for me," Batman replies as he secures the disk, "I especially don't trust you."

"Well… if it isn't Lexy Luthor," a young male's voice

Luthor turns around and finds Superboy, Powergirl, and Steel behind him. Batman is nowhere to be found.

"Ahh, a few of the Justice League's B-Side," Luthor says with a smile, "I assume the Gotham nursery is too well protected for your usual patrol?"

"Laugh it up, Luthor," Powergirl says, "Believe it or not, and I'm still trying hard to believe it, we're actually here to protect you."

Things are pretty dangerous now," Steel says, "that's why Superman gave us direct orders to make sure you make it to that podium."

"I'll have to send him a thank you card," Luthor smiles, "But I'm already protected… Serenity."

Out comes a 5'10" Serena Williams looking woman all dressed in a white one piece, white boots and a white cape. Just like the female tennis player, she's got an amazingly fit but femininely desirable body and she wears a menacing facial expression.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Luthor?" Serenity says, "Because if there is, just say the word and I'll solve it."

"Woah," Superboy says, "In the words of the Animaniacs… hellooooooooooooo nurse!!"

"Because equal opportunity is a hallmark of my presidential campaign, I have been funding Cleopatra and her Amazons efforts to liberate Miracle Island from male chauvinist oppression, as well as supplying those lovely ladies with weapons." Luthor says, "Serenity is the personal aid to Cleopatra herself and she is providing me with her services."

"She doesn't look like much to me," Powergirl responds

"Try me," Serenity says, "Do they need to leave, Mr. Luthor? Would like me to see them out?"

"No thank you, Serenity," Luthor says, smiling his sinister smile at Powergirl, "They can stay… but they just have to be on their best behavior while I finish looking over my speech."

"What was Batman doing here?" Superboy asks

"None of your business, young man," Luthor replies smiling, "Perhaps you should ask him if you really want to know."

"It's just like Superman suspected," Powergirl whispers

Meanwhile… across the street on the abandoned fourth floor of the Tenet Express Building…

"This isn't looking so good," Green Arrow says as he is watching Luthor and the others through his binoculars, "I don't like the idea of secrecy from the League… but Batman brought me in and I trust him more than anything."

"Being secretive?" the Question responds, "If you want the answers, Oliver, you have to uncover the questions, and that takes a lot of secrecy."

"I really wish Batman had asked us to do this gig without Peter Pan and Blondie," Huntress says, twitching anxiously as she leans against one of the steel beams

"Hey!" Green Arrow says turning and looking at her

"Oh don't worry, Huntress," Black Canary says, "the feeling is quite mutual."

"Hey Barbie, anytime you wanna--" Huntress begins

"I'm not interested," Black Canary replies, "One thing I've noticed about you is that you talk a good game, but underneath all of it is a scared little girl who's a mediocre fighter at best."

Huntress draws her sword and places it right under Canary's chin. The raven haired Huntress stares into the blonde's sapphire eyes with anger, but Canary doesn't flinch. Green Arrow and Question move towards the two ladies, expecting blows to soon be exchanged, but Canary steps back and Huntress lowers her sword.

"Question," Canary says, "You better teach your girlfriend some manners, because the next time she points that thing at me, she'll be eating it. I'm going outside."

"Dina wait!" Green Arrow says, starting after her. He looks at Huntress, "Do you have to be so negative? So many bad things have been happening lately and we've already got enough internal conflicts among team members. But we've got to focus on figuring out what the hell is going on around here. This is a bigger deal than you and your personality problems."

"Make a move or go to hell," Huntress says as she leans back against the beam, "As far as going against the League and secrecy… we're the masters at that."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Batman," Green Arrow says, "Bout time you showed up."

"But only for a moment," the dark knight detective says as he hands Question and Green Arrow each a copy of the disk Luthor gave him, "Take this and study it well. I have to go to London."

"Have you looked at what's on this disk?" Question asks

"I've only glanced at it," Batman replies, "I have Robin doing a deeper analysis. Luthor assured me that everything Cadmus related is on that disk."

"But that comes with a freight load of salt," Green Arrow says

"I'll be in touch," Batman says as he fades into the shadows, "For now, I suggest you go on patrol… don't go back to the Watchtower."

Arkham Asylum…

"HEEELLLLPPPP USSSSSS!!" screams the large Killer Croc as he and so many other prisoners run for their lives with the sound of machine gun fire raging on. He bangs on the door to a holding cell. "Two-Face!! Let me in NOW!! I must essssscape him!!

"Forget it, Croc!" comes the voice from the other side, accompanied by a shotgun blast that just misses Croc's head. "That was a warning! Stop trying to pry open this door and get lost!!"

BOOOOOOOM!!

The entire left wing of the asylum erupts in flames from the C4 explosion. The Ventriloquist, holding onto Scarface, ducks low behind some bushes as the misty smoke and shadowy figures running for their lives takes over. The mist only shifts when bullets fly and men drop and die and the dark figure approaches.

"Scarface, I think it would be a wonderful idea if we left this place while we still can," the Ventriloquist says

"Blah, see?" Scarface says, "forget it!! If I'm going down, I'm taking all of ems with me, see?!"

The little puppet fires off his Tommy gun into the mist hoping to hit something, but ducks as a spray of bullets is returned. The Ventriloquist peers over the brush to see the shadowy figure reloading both weapons and coming his way.

"It's one man," the Ventriloquist says, "Only one man!!"

"One man?" Scarface replies, "That's impossible!!"

As the dark figure approaches, all the Ventriloquist can see is the black outline of his body and a white skull emblem on his chest… Frank Castle, Vietnam veteran turned judge, jury and execution… The Punisher. The tall black hair unshaven Castle stands over the old Ventriloquist and kicks Scarface away.

"You scum get crazier and crazier as I run through this place," he says, "just an old man without your little puppet."

He places the barrel of the long M-16/grenade launcher on the old man's forehead.

"Please!" the Ventriloquist says, "It wasn't me!! It was Scarface!!"

"Take to take your medicine, freak," the Punisher responds, "And I've got just the right dosage."

But something slices clean through the barrel of the gun and Castle looks down to find… a tiara?

"What the (& is this?" he says as the headpiece disappears and he turns.

"Drop the weapon and place your hands above your head," Wonder Woman says

"I'd do as she says," Longshadow states, "You may be lucky you don't get the death penalty for all the lives you've taken tonight."

"They're criminals! They're killers!" Punisher says as he drops the gun and raises one of his arms while reaching for something behind his back, "I made this world far safer by wiping the scum out."

"They are mentally unfit to blend in with society, but that doesn't give you the right to-- ARGHH!!" cries Longshadow as Punisher shoots him in the collarbone and runs off

"Longshadow!!" Wonder Woman cries

"Ahh how sweet," Punisher says, "I don't have time for this !+…"

Wonder Woman leans over Longshadow…

"Are you alright?" she says, sounding genuinely concerned

"I'm slowing down, Diana," he says weakly, "Nature is taking its course… but don't worry about me… stop that maniac and I'll join you shortly."

She tears a part of her red top and places it on the wound.

"Keep pressure on it and be careful," she says, "I'll be back shortly…I promise."

"I know you will," he says and Wonder Woman turns her head quickly to prevent him from seeing her blushing and she quickly sets off. Her movements are poetry in motion as she is serene and graceful wading through the chaos after the Punisher, knocking down inmates and saving guards as she advances, deflecting his gunfire with her bracelets. All the while, she can hear that hysterical laughter as they are rushing down the hall to the most dangerous cell in Arkham. The mixture of sirens from arriving Gotham PD to sounds of the wounded inmates and guards moaning to the sounds of gunfire to the Joker's nonstop laughter… Wonder Woman realizes that she is truly in a madhouse… but not too far away, standing over the unconscious body of Longshadow, the piece of Wonder Woman's garb still draped across his collar… Lobo feels right at home.

"Wonder Wench and Totem Pole sittin in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G, first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a funeral with a horse drawn carriage…soooo, she like men that dress up like little insecure bats and she likes men that dress up like the Village People… heh heh heh… but she's gonna realllllllllllly like the Main Man…"

Lobo rips the piece of fabric from around Longshadow's neck and pulls him up. Lobo hammer Longshadow's face while talking.

"She loves me… she loves me not… she loves me… she loves me NOT!! If you were awake, I'd give you a message to give to that Wonder wretch, but you're not, so I'll just leave my mark."

Lobo steps hard on Longshadow's crotch; he can hear pelvic bones breaking as he stomps again and begins to walk away.

"Take it from someone who knows," he laughs, "That thing'll get you inta trouble every time…"

Back at the Watchtower…

"So, she comes back and you're all over her!" Vixen says, sliding her sleek one piece on over her desirable body

"That's not quite how it happened," John Stewart aka Green Lantern says as he pulls up his pants and grabs his boots

"Then how did it happen?" Vixen responds, "She just slipped on a banana peel and landed on your--"

"It just happened," John says looking down, "I don't know how to explain it… I thought I was over her."

"Oh so now you can't explain," she replies, "Because last time, you said you could!"

"I've been confused ever since she came back…" he responds, "I thought I could move on."

"What is my purpose?" she says looking at him, the anger is no longer in her voice, "Tell me what it is you want from me."

"I don't understand what you mean"

"You know damn well what I mean," she says, trying to fight off her anger, "What are you doing here in my room? We just finished doing some 'things' and taking a shower and now we're getting dressed… but you don't know what you want. You know I can't keep on like this."

"I still--"

"You still what?" she says, now the anger is back, "You still love her? Then why are you with ME? Why are you using me like this?"

"I'm not using you…"

"Then what do you call this?" she says, "Recess?"

"I just need more time to figure out what I really want"

"That's your problem right there, John," she says pulling on her other boot and pointing at him, "Everything is about YOU and not me. You haven't thought about my feelings while you run around trying to get with HER. John, I wanted to start a family with you and I feel like I have fallen in love with you. You know me; you know the kinds of men I've attracted because I told you… and now, you're turning out to be just like the rest of them and it's HURTING me. You can't just put my heart on layaway while you figure out what it is that YOU want. You can't just come up here and sleep with me and then run off to try SHAYERA. I'd NEVER do that to you because I care about your feelings… but you're just thinking about yourself."

"I still love her"

"Get out, John."

John tries to say something else to Vixen, but his earpiece goes off.

"Green Lantern, this is Martian Manhunter… you are needed to the bridge."

Green Lantern arrives on the bridge to find Martian Manhunter, Flash, and Shayera, who avoids eye contact with him. Supergirl is also there and greets him with a smile.

"Where's Superman?" GL says

"He had business to take care of," Supergirl says, "He told me to stand in for him."

"Wonder Woman is dealing with the situation at Arkham, and Batman's whereabouts are unknown," J'onn says with obvious concern. "Several League members are not connected via commlink; we are already spread very thin right now, this is not making our situation any better."

"Hey, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are all away," Flash says, "But that can't be too bad of a thing… right? Yowzers…who's she?"

On the big screen, there is the headline "DISASTER IN METROPOLIS… AMAZON ATTACKS!!" A shot is shown of a tall woman with red hair in a long ponytail and a black and green outfit on. She's flying through a line of skyscrapers and causing destruction.

"This is Claire Owens with Channel 7-WBTV. The woman causing this destruction has been identified as Artemis, an Amazon from Themyscira, the same island that Justice League founding member, Wonder Woman is from. Artemis is not known for having the ability to fly, or having super strength, but somehow, she has both. We have no idea why Artemis has gone crazy and is causing so much damage. We have no estimate of the amount of property damage she's caused or how many lives have been lost, and Superman is nowhere to be found. This attack by an associate of a JL member cannot come at a worse time for the League, with business mogul and presidential candidate Lex Luthor scheduled to give a speech in Gotham City a few hours from now. The woman seems to be screaming and enjoying the chaos she is causing; we await word from--"

"J'onn," Flash says, "Just wondering… how is it that the news channel knows more about this chick than we do?"

"We can only assume that the information on her was leaked," J'onn replies, "But we don't have time to figure that out. I'm beaming you down. Our primary concern is the protection of lives."

J'onn sends Flash, GL, Supergirl, Shayera, and the arriving Vixen to Metropolis. As they arrive, Fire is sent crashing into Flash. The Latina's green flame goes out as Artemis has Ice by the throat.

"Nothing can stop me!!" Artemis screams, "You will bow to the will of my MASTER!!"

"Get ready, guys," Ice says as she freezes Artemis' hands and torso. This also freezes Ice to Artemis, "Blast her with everything you've got… you have to take her down!!"

"Forget it," GL says, "You're in the shot. If we blast her, we blast you!"

"Haven't you heard the saying, Green Lantern?" Artemis says as she easily breaks the ice, sending chunks and sharp razor ice pieces shooting everywhere, "He who hesitates is LOST!!"

Ice drops to the ground, her outfit ripped and bleeding from the icy knives. Artemis flies up to Green Lantern and before he can use his ring on her, she nails him with a solid kick to the chest and slams him into the ground.

"That's it!" Vixen says, "You put your hands on MY man!! Uh uh!!"

She charges the Amazon, jumping into the air and channeling the tiger, showing her razor claws as she tackles Artemis, but the redhead flips, placing both feet on Vixen's stomach and kicking her through a glass display. Artemis lands in front of the beautiful black woman and stares down at her.

"C'mon, Artemis," Vixen says weakly, "Show what you got…UUnnHH!!"

Artemis slams a hard right hand down on Vixen's nose and blood squirts. Vixen wraps her arms around Artemis' legs, but the 6' tall redhead pulls Vixen's head back hard in a can opener hold. Vixen feels her neck straining as she lifts the Amazon and slams her on her back, but Artemis locks her legs around Vixen's body and squeezes her in a body scissors. Vixen channels the snake to slip out of the hold, but Artemis nails her with a hard kick to the face then gets to her feet. Vixen is stunned, and receives a hard knee to her stomach that doubles her over into a double axe handle to the back of her neck. Artemis rolls Vixen over on her back, mounts her and begins to pummel her face with punches while locking her legs around Vixen's waist.

"And I am Artemis no more," she says, but Vixen couldn't hear her if she wanted to, "My new name is WAR!!

"GL are you okay?" Flash says

"I've been worse," GL responds, "Get those bystanders to safety while… VIXEN!!"

Green Lantern can hear slamming sounds and then sees his girlfriend, Vixen, flying out of the small donut shop, twirling in the air and crashing nearby… a bloody mess and her face swollen and both eyes shut. Supergirl flies in on Artemis with both fists aimed at the redhead's face, but Artemis blocks them double shot with her right forearm and sends and thunderously sickening submarine shot to Supergirl's stomach, just above her oblong navel.

"OUUUUUGGGGHHH!!" groans the blonde as she balls into a fetal position and her guts explode in agony. Artemis takes Supergirl and rams her head repeatedly into the cement street.

"J'onn," Flash says, "We're gonna need some help down here ASAP!"

The White House…

Amanda Waller's pudgy figure made the chair squat as she looked at President G.W. Bush.

"Mr. President," she says, "you understand where I'm coming from, I'm sure. This calls for a preemptive strike. I don't see you having trouble from Senator Kerry in the general election, but Luthor has taken over the lead in the polls, and most of it is because he's running on a strong position against the Justice League. You are supposed to be tough on terror and this is the perfect situation for you to remind the American people of that. You have to send a message to the League and to the world that these sorts of attacks on US soil with not be tolerated, and if the Justice League won't do anything about it, you will."

"Fine," the President responds picking up the phone, "Yes General. We're just gonna tap em on the , nothin too explosive. Ah want those Raven-177's loaded and sent to where'd ya call this place, Ms. Waller?"

"Themyscira," she says smiling, "We're bombing Themyscira."

"Well," he says, looking over a cigar, "Let's roll."

Arkham…

The Punisher misses with a haymaker right hand as Wonder Woman grabs his arm and twists it, breaking it. Diana backhands the man in black to the floor, then flashes her arm up as a shotgun shell pops against her bracelet.

"You didn't have to shoot him," she says angrily, "You murderous piece of filth… you did NOT have to SHOOT him!"

She grabs Castle up by his throat and squeezes…

"I must admit," she begins, "I wasn't too upset with your killings of criminals. I guess that's just my Amazon roots talking. Most of the people you have killed are murderers and some of them have even killed children… this is one of the few places where Batman, Superman, and I do not see eye to eye. But tonight, you shot a member of the Justice League and you could've very well killed him."

Castle struggles to break free, but he realizes that it isn't taking any strength for Diana to hold him in place and squeeze his throat.

"Tell me," she says draping the Lasso of Truth around him and pulling him high into the dark night, "How many have you killed? How many lives have you destroyed trying to rid the world of criminals with your reckless unorganized way of shooting first and asking questions later? Tell me NOW!"

"I…I…I've lost count," he says, and then she drops him. If it wasn't for his Kevlar armor, he may have broken his back when he crashed through the top of that police car.

"Batman to Wonder Woman"

"Bruce," she says, fighting back a huge grin forming on her face

"I can't talk right now, so just listen," he says

"Well, I'm sorry for being happy that you--" she starts

"Meet me in Egypt; I'm sending you the coordinates," he cuts in, "We may be able to shut this entire operation down before it gets out of control… but I have a feeling it's already out of control."

"Fine," she says, "I'll see you there… Wonder Woman to Watchtower. J'onn are you there? I've got Longshadow and he's hurt very badly… J'onn? Is anyone there?"

Wonder Woman realizes that her commlink to the Watchtower is dead, but her connection to Batman is still up. When she finds Longshadow, he's crawling to the Invisible Jet… a bloody mess and his skin taking on a corpse-like quality.

"Hera!!" she flies down and takes him into the jet, "What in Zeus' name happened to you?!"

"I… I don't know," he mutters, "Diana… it's so good to see you… I… need you."

She doesn't think; she acts. She picks him up and puts him on the jet. She tries her commlink again and no response. With the police, swat teams, and even the Gotham National Guard controlling the situation at Arkham, Wonder Woman inputs the coordinates to Egypt in her plane's navigation system after treating Longshadow's wounds. He sees her exposed side from where she tore the fabric of her red top off for him. He touches her side as she leans over him and she winces with an "uhh."

"I'm sorry," he says, "did I do something wrong?"

"No," she says looking away, "your hands are just cold… must be the air conditioner. I'll go turn the thermostat up a few degrees."

"Wait," he says, "Don't leave me… I need to… I don't have a lot of time left. I know this, Diana. Even as I feel my strength coming back to me, I feel my life force leaving me. So, I have to tell you this. No one I've known in my life, my imaginary one and my real one, has touched me the way you have. I've never met anyone like you… I love you."

"I love you too, Longshadow," she says as she stands, but he holds onto her arm, "Your wounds are treated… I have to… navigate the plane… we're going to Egypt… You will be safe on the jet; I'll put you in a rejuvenation chamber…Bruce… Batman is waiting. ."

"So am I," he says, "so am I…"

As Batman sat on the plane, he stared at the tall brunette with the braided ponytail out of the corner of his eye as she sipped champagne. He could only imagine how different things would be if he took this trip as Bruce Wayne… but still, his mind would be on Diana.

"You don't care for any champagne?" Lara Croft says, her long legs crossed, blinking her eyes at the Batman, "You've got a lot on your mind; I guess. But you don't look like much of a conversationalist."

"Ms. Croft," Batman responds, "The only thing that concerns me this moment is where we're going and what we're doing. Any friend of Lex Luthor's is not a friend of mine."

"I wouldn't call myself his friend," Lara Croft the Tomb Raider responds, her dimples showing as she laughs a smile in her London accent, "Luthor is only interested in himself. It is my fascination with artifacts and uncovering the mysteries of these places that has drawn me here. He knew there was no one better, but he doesn't know me as well as he thinks. His motivations are not unknown to me; I am quite used to his type… they soak up the business world with their Machiavellian cutthroat ways. They underestimate every woman they come in contact with. I was reading about this 'millionaire playboy' out in Gotham City… Bruce Wayne and his flirty escapades. Men like that never settle down because everything is money, money, money. That is why we beat them in the business world. Trust me, Batman; Lex Luthor isn't using me… I'm using him."

"Fascinating," Batman responds

"Pilot," she says, "Land the plane here. I hope there is a cooling system inside that suit of yours, Batman. Dare I say, it is a little hot out here."

The plane lands near a deep opening in the sands… a hidden entrance to some underground place. Lara sees a small man standing near a camel.

"I see our guide is here," she says, "He will take us down."

"Indeed he will," Batman says as twelve men in black brandishing small machine guns appear from under the sand… one is not a man… but a woman with long black hair, several locks of it covering her left eye. Lara reaches for her twin pistols, but Batman puts his hand up to signal for the tall brunette Englishwoman to stand down.

"Hello, beloved," Talia al Ghul says, "We've been expecting you."

Shellfire is everywhere as Talia's ghouls duck for cover, but they don't know what's shooting at them; they can't see the plane as Batman hides a grin.

"And I've been expecting her," he says as the Invisible Jet lands and Wonder Woman steps out. Lara, Wonder Woman, and Talia all look at one another and then back at Batman.

Gotham City's Marriot…

"It's almost time, Mr. Luthor," the tall black haired aid says as she enters the room

"Thank you, Emma," Lex responds as he gets his papers ready, "Where are the three League members?"

"They've been pulled out," she replies, "I assume they are heading to Metropolis to deal with the Artemis situation."

"And Serenity?" he asks

"She left as well," the aid replies, "She said there was a disturbance on Miracle Island. Cleopatra was under attack by a super-powered being and she had to leave. But your personal guards are on duty and there are Gotham police outside, but not as many as we would've wanted because of what happened earlier at Arkham."

"Oh dear," are Luthor's last words as he makes his way outside.

Metropolis…

Hawkgirl swings her mace wildly at Artemis, and the airborne redhead dodges the blow before landing a savage kick to Shayera's ribs. Shayera holds in a groan as she goes after the Amazon. She sees Superboy, Steel, and Powergirl approaching from above and behind Artemis

"The Calvary's here!" Superboy says, but Artemis grabs him and throws him into Shayera, knocking the wind out of her, then backfists Powergirl and wraps her legs around Steel's neck, throwing both Leaguers to the ground. Artemis turns, only to be met with a mace shot to her side by the speedy Hawkgirl and one to her jaw.

"UNNNHHH!!" cries the Amazon as she struggles to stay in the air. She lets out an "OOF!!" as Shayera gets her with a sidekick to the pit of her stomach and falls to the ground.

"Everybody on her NOW!!" Green Lantern yells as the present members of the League (with the exceptions of Supergirl and Vixen, who are down) make a rush for Artemis, but the Amazon rises, and pulling a page out of the Hulk's book, claps her hands together , sending shockwaves, shattering windows and grounding the airborne Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, Powergirl, Superboy and Steel, but only long enough to make her escape.

"My work here is finished," she says, "I did not fail my Master's orders and the time of the Apocalypse will soon come."

"What in the world was she babbling about?" Superboy says

"Beats me," Flash replies, "Beats all of us… you know, like, she beat the heck out of all of us."

"Sounds to me like this was just a distraction," Green Lantern says, "But a distraction from what? Shayera, are you okay?"

"We let her get away," Shayera says, "There is no way we should have let her get away."

"We have to cater to the injured," Green Lantern says

"Then I suggest you do that," Shayera responds, pointing at Vixen

Deep within the underground catacombs in Egypt…

Wonder Woman doesn't like the way this feels. Talia al Ghul, daughter of environmental terrorist and mass murderer Ras al Ghul is walking side by side with Batman, while WW is tagging behind and being shadowed by shadowy figures. Talia is telling Batman that she is deeply concerned about her father's behavior of late and that he is now worshipping an immortal monster. When Batman wants to know what this monster is, Talia says that she will lead them straight to it as it sleeps. Talia says that this being has been gaining its strength and if it reaches full power, it will not be stopped. She fears that because her father is aiding this monster, he is putting himself and his mission to purify the planet in heavy danger. Diana knows that Batman and Talia have had history, but even if she didn't know it, she could tell by their body language. Lara Croft looks at WW and shrugs her shoulders; Diana can only give the tall brunette an intimidating look and roll her eyes.

"When do we get to the Lazarus pits?" Diana says, growing testy by the second, "I'm starting to believe this is nothing but a trap."

"Just over that edge, Princess," says Talia, smiling, "Tell me… are you jealous?"

"Jealous of what?" Diana says as she can now feel the heat coming from the pits

"Oh nothing," Talia says with a laugh, "You just seem a bit jealous."

Talia leads them to a magnificent scene. The Lazarus pits are golden and burning and there is, at the very center on an elevated platform, an Egyptian coffin with pipes coming from it, pumping the fluid into the coffin. Wonder Woman, Batman, and Lara Croft stand in awe of the scene.

"Hello detective," Ras al Ghul says as he appears on a nearby cliff. On the ground is Bane, the large villain is covered in sores and boils… on the other side of the room is the tall redheaded assassin known as Fatale, carrying a huge gun. "Talia brought you straight to us. A pity that you've come all this way to die."

"What, you aren't going to tell us about your plan for world domination?" Lara says, "Isn't that what you mastermind types do?"

"Unfortunately," Ras says as Bane comes forward, "I've learned from my many clashes with the detective. Offering him the opportunity to join me never helps. Better to just get this over with. Famine, Pestilence, take them!"

"I'm sorry, beloved," Talia says as she spin kicks Lara. The London brunette goes down hard, but attempts to spin herself to her feet, pulling her pistols and shooting at Talia, who does a flip and returns fire from her own gun, getting Lara in the shoulder. Talia moves in on Lara and kicks her to the throat, knees her in the stomach forcing the air from her, and gives her a double elbow to both sides of her neck, dropping her.

Batman makes his way up the cliff to challenge Ras as Bane approaches Wonder Woman from behind while she deflects shots from Fatale's weapon with her bracelets.

"Diana!"

The arriving Longshadow grabs Bane and tackles him just as the disease-ridden monster was ready to tackle Wonder Woman. Diana watches in horror as the injured Longshadow becomes covered in sores and boils just as Fatale approaches her and touches her face… Diana drops… she feels helpless and as if her insides are eating at themselves because she's so hungry. Something slams hard into Batman and buries him in the rocks, but only pulls out his cape. Diana wants to stand up and go after the shadowy female, her hair flaming and shining in the light of the pits. But Diana can't help Bruce. She can't move and she and Longshadow make eye contact… then she looks up… she sees the face of the shadowy woman and recognizes it as a face she hasn't seen in some time… this situation just became a thousand times more dreadful.

"Artemis…why?" she says right before the tall redhead kicks her in the face and knocks her out.

"These two seem to be lovers of a sort," Ras says, "That one is clearly dying… put them in a cell together. That should be interesting."

"I'll make sure to secure Wonder Woman so that she can't get free," Artemis says, "At least until our master awakens and he tells us what to do with them."

"Where is the detective?" Ras says

"I smashed him through the wall," Artemis replies, "he's done."

"You underestimate him," Talia says smiling, "My beloved is alive."

"Well," Ras says, "He won't be for long. Search this entire area and find him. I will not have him ruining our plans again… not when we are so close."

Gotham…

Luthor takes the podium with the cameras flashing and the press out. Despite all the chaos of the day and night, Lex was still able to draw a pretty good crowd. From across the street, Green Arrow and Black Canary watch from the rooftop while Huntress and Question watch from the alley… or rather, Huntress watches.

"Everything points to Egypt," Question says, "Where is Miracle Island, the place where Serenity came from… off the coast of Egypt… where did Artemis' Amazons migrate… to Egypt… where were Ras al Ghul's last known whereabouts… Egypt… and I'm following a trail of heat wave patterns… Superman's last known whereabouts before he came back and destroyed Doomsday came from…"

"Superman!" Huntress says as she sees the Man of Steel fly down and land between Lex Luthor and the press. Luthor stares at Superman.

"Come to hear my speech, have you?" Luthor says, "Got yourself a front row seat, eh Big Blue?"

"The world has changed, Luthor," Superman says coldly, "It's time we changed with it… starting now."

Luthor's eyes widen as Superman's heat vision burns a hole right through his chest. Lex Luthor drops dead instantly… Huntress, Canary, Green Arrow, and Question all are in shock from what they have witnessed and J'onn and the others on board the Watchtower are just as shocked as Superman takes off into the sky.

To be Continued…


	5. Chapter 5

I guess I have to state this every time I do a chapter. I do not own any of the characters presented in this story except for Serenity and a couple of others. I had a very, very long chapter coming, but I decided to split it up a bit. I realize that this is a pretty complex story, so I'm taking my time in resetting things so that players and sides can be established and clutter can be removed.

The President sat in the oval office and made faces into the camera right before it was time. He tried to look as serious as he could, with Amanda Waller and the first lady just out of view.

President- Good morning. Our country was founded on the principles of equality for every man, woman, and child. This great nation was founded on the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. From the colonists, to the abolitionists, to the leaders of the civil rights movement, the equal rights movement for women, and the freedom fighters of this country in Iraq and Afghanistan, this great nation of ours has always stood for freedom. Last night, there was an attack on our freedom. An Amazon named Artemis, a representative of Themyscira, attacked and caused extreme damage to the city of Metropolis. This was an unprovoked terrorist attack and an attack that cost not only property, but more importantly, American lives. We have lived in a world of fear and a world of terror; Superman's actions last night proved that some of our heroes have chosen to prematurely discipline us, but not their own. Artemis is from the same island as the Justice League member Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is Princess Diana of Themyscira; she is the princess of that island. I should also say that she has not been present or had any contact with this administration or the United Nations since this incident has happened. Her disappearance from the public eye raises a lot of speculation as to her involvement in this terrorist attack. In the past, Queen Hyppolyta has been very anti-American; the amazons rejected my offer to visit the island one year ago on the basis that I was a male. Knowing the full scale civil war on Miracle Island, where countless men are being slaughtered by rogue Amazons led by Cleopatra, a cult leader and mass murderer, and knowing that Miracle Island and Themyscira are just two sides of the same coin, we have strong evidence linking the two to Artemis' actions last night. So, as President, my job was to act swiftly in the defeat and elimination of terror. We bombed 'em this morning. I have a message for Queen Hyppolyta, Cleopatra, and all those of you who practice terror… the people of the United States are the heart and soul of democracy and we will not tolerate your brand of terror. As a matter of fact, I spoke to Queen Hyppolyta and I told her just that. We will unleash the greatest military force on you that you have ever seen if you practice terror, and our weapons are a lot bigger and more potent than anything you've got. Overnight, we have taken more than three thousand Amazons into custody who are living here in the United States. One of those taken was Cassandra Sandsmark, who is not an Amazon, but has worked with them under the alias of Wonder Girl. Wonder Woman is wanted for questioning and the Justice League had best turn her in, or she had best turn herself in. The freedom that our forefathers set out and established must not be crushed by the axises of evildoers. While I certainly mourn the loss of Lex Luthor and was looking forward to competing against him in the general election, Lex Luthor was funding these Amazon terrorists. Perhaps there is something to be learned for his unfortunate death.

Themyscira's sentries sounded the alarm the moment the planes flew over. The large hawk-like birds flew up to meet the twin black jets, but were gunned down by the stealth silvery runners alongside them. The bombs fell, as little Amazon children still slept, as their guardians awoke and grabbed their weapons and readied for the attack, as Queen Hyppolyta herself stumbled out of bed, as her guards rushed to her side to get her to safety, but her only command was for her armor… the bombs fell and a great warrior nation, a nation of wise and strong women, women of wonder, found itself burning as death has hit.

"Brutality"

Chapter Five

"Legends of The Fall"

"Our love must die…

Touch my tears

With your lips

Touch my world

With your fingertips

And we can have forever

And we can love forever

Forever is our today

Who wants to live forever?

Who wants to live forever?

Forever is our today

Who waits forever anyway?"

--Queen, "Who Wants to Live Forever?"

"This is Superman to all members of the Justice League. Send J'onn your coordinates and we will see you at the Watchtower. We have a very important meeting."

Huntress, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and the Question are in the Gotham sewer, of all places. After Superman killed Luthor, there was a small riot and rather than fight the mob, which is what Huntress attempted to do, they made their way underground.

Green Arrow- What do you think? Should we do it?

Huntress- You can go back if you want to; I'm not. I didn't like Luthor and he is responsible for plenty of deaths. Believe me, I won't miss him, but even I know something isn't right when the ultimate boy scout kills him with that much ease.

Green Arrow- It was as if he didn't even think about what he was doing… he just did it… Question?

Question- We should wait, but I think it might be a good idea to get out of the sewer.

Black Canary- For once, something we can all agree upon.

Huntress- Watch your mouth, Barbie.

Black Canary- What did I say? You're just trying to put yourself over me… if I didn't have so much patience, you'd be on your back by now.

Huntress moves at BC and the blonde assumes a fighting stance. Once again, Green Arrow and Question step between them.

Green Arrow- Listen, we don't have time for this bickering; we're stuck with one another and we're just going to have to deal with it until we hear from Batman. For now, let's get out of this place and go somewhere to change.

Black Canary- I've got an apartment nearby. We can set up there.

Huntress- There's no way I'm going to set foot in your home. We can go to my apartment. I've got a computer and I know Blondie here well enough to know that she isn't computer literate.

Black Canary- Forgive me if I've got a more traditional approach to locating criminals.

Green Arrow- (looking at Question) This is going to be a looooong walk.

The Watchtower… Superman stands in front of a large computer generated image of the world while the massive assortment of league members are present looking at him. Throughout the map, there are little lights flashing.

Superman- Tokyo, Japan… a new ninja clan, calls itself the Hand. Boston, Massachusetts… new group led by some elitist named Sebastian Shaw, calls itself the Hellfire Club. Central City…. Bizarro and Solomon Grundy have been sighted in the company of someone calling himself Dr. Octopus, along with a large blonde female named Stunner. Los Angeles, California… Black Tom and the Juggernaut, never heard of them, but they'll be hearing from us soon. Juggernaut claims he's unstoppable; we'll show him unstoppable. London, England… Queen Madeline and her Court of Chaos. Miracle Island, just off the coast of northern Africa… Cleopatra and a cult of murdering Amazons, one of which was protected Lex Luthor, who as it turns out, was funding them. New Orleans, Louisiana… the Thieves Guild, led by a mutant named Belladonna. And speaking of that, I'm also undecided on how to proceed with this 'mutant' fuss that's been all over the news. I'm particularly curious about a group of mutants who are inhabiting a mansion in Westchester, New York. As our universe seems to continue its merging, we can only hope that whatever we're being merged with behaves in an appropriate manner and knows that the authority on the safety of this world is the Justice League. It's time the JL became more proactive. There are numerous hot spots on this map I am showing you and this league was founded for the purposes of eliminating all of them. There are countless numbers in Gotham City and New York, but we will work our way to all of them.

J'onn/Martian Manhunter- What about your own actions? What about the murder of Lex Luthor?

Superman- Lex Luthor was funding terrorists, was connected to Cadmus, which is plotting to destroy us, and is a murderer. His presence was an abomination in and of itself.

J'onn- You are not the Superman I remember. Ever since your return during Doomsday's attack in Gotham City, you have behaved differently.

Superman- I'm the same person; I've just caught up with the times, J'onn. The world has changed and we have not been strong enough. We have the ability to destroy this planet; we have the power to rule this world if we so choose to, but we choose to protect the innocent and those weaken than we are! I was captured by Cadmus and I suffered… I am tired of watching this world suffer… I am tired of seeing this League do nothing but sit back and react. We know where they are; let's go take them out!

John Stewart, better known as Green Lantern, comes and stands near Vixen/Mari. She is none too pleased with it and moves to another part of the room.

GL- Mari, why are you acting like this? You've been avoiding me ever since we got back from Metropolis.

Vixen- You've been avoiding my feelings ever since (raising her voice and looking at Hawkgirl) Shayera Hol came back.

Shayera hears Vixen and makes her way over towards them, Flash quickly slides between the two ladies.

Flash- Ladies… how are you guys doing today? Well, we are in outer space, so perhaps I should say night? I mean, when you're in space, is it day or night or what?

Shayera- If you must know, Vixen, I am still in love with John.

Green Lantern's jaw drops.

Vixen- And if you must know, HawkGIRL, he's my boyfriend and you better stay away from him before you get your hawkeyes clawed out.

Shayera- Forgive me, I was under the impression by your behavior a few seconds ago, that YOU were trying to stay away from him. I saved you from Artemis, Vixen, you should be thanking me.

Vixen- I saved you from myself and a personal butt kicking from me… you should be thanking me.

GL- Shayera, Mari, please…

Vixen- Save it, John. You can't blame this on anyone but yourself. And a word to the wise, HawkGIRL, this is strike two for you with me. I don't mind being your teammate and fighting by your side, but when you get into my relationship… it's personal.

Vixen goes to her quarters.

Shayera- I think I'm going to go get started on being proactive. I'm taking a Javelin down to earth. Let me know how this goes.

Flash- Aren't you glad you've got me around to help you get through this? You're a regular mack daddy, GL.

GL- Flash…

Flash- But seriously, John, you're going to have to make a choice and be clear about it. You've got two great women who both obviously want to be with you. Shayera's come clean, but it was obvious when she came back. You can't keep hurting both of them, even if you're hurting too.

J'onn- This is unacceptable. You must consider turning yourself in for his murder, Superman.

Superman- (chuckling) I'm quite sure they wouldn't have a cell that could hold me. I escaped Cadmus' capture and I have returned stronger and more confident than ever in our ability to defeat them.

J'onn- Superman, murder was never your way. This is the single event that turned the Justice League into the Justice Lords. This deeply troubles me, especially with the disappearances of Batman and Wonder Woman and the mergings.

Supergirl- Batman and Wonder Woman are probably on the invisible jet making out.

Superman- Ha ha ha ha… you must not have known that Batman had a secret meeting with Lex Luthor hours before the speech he would've given, condemning our team. He and Wonder Woman disappeared right before Artemis attacked Metropolis. Luthor was funding the Amazons of Miracle Island; one of them was present while Batman was there. It all makes perfect sense to me… Batman and Wonder Woman may have betrayed us.

J'onn- I strongly doubt that.

Superman- J'onn… love… it can make you do some crazy things.

J'onn- I am under the suspicion that you have been exposed to some form of mind control. Come with me to my quarters and let me probe your mind.

Superman- Forget it. My mind is fine and it's made up. I did what I had to do to protect the planet from a grave danger.

J'onn- You killed a man in cold blood.

Superman- Well, let's just ask those here what they think then, J'onn. Do any of you here have a problem with what I did?

Stone silence… but J'onn can read their thoughts and he knows that many of them do, they're just scared and in awe of the legendary hero.

Superman- Didn't think so. I'm going to go to my quarters and get ready to take a little trip.

J'onn- Where are you going?

Superman- To pay the President a little visit.

(My pain is immense as the water is dumped on me and I feel the electric shock through my body. Even my tears feel as though they are on fire… how long have they been at this? How long have they been trying to break me? Bruce… I hear his voice and I am reminded of my morning workouts… he would give me a spot, as if I needed one… every time I'd lift the mammoth weight up, he'd make some little comment… somewhere between sarcasm and sincerity… AHHHHHHHHH!!)

Ras- Yes… scream, Wonder Woman, scream for your master… Fatale, apply more power to her… I feel she is beginning to soften.

(The redhead with the pupiless eyes and the killer smile moves forward and it begins again. She sticks the wires into my wrists and I feel every vein in my body blaze into a running current of pain. Her face, white as death and her smile, so vacant of any humanity… what is this woman?)

Ras- Fatale was the best assassin perhaps on the face of this earth. An Amazon of another culture, her women were conquered and tortured, made into slaves of a despot named Tsunami Tairan. She swore that she would never speak until her people are free and her nation is liberated. Would you, dear Princess, ever have that sort of will?

(AHHHHH!! I am screaming and I do not recognize my own voice as my vocal cords are pushed to their limits…Bruce, where are you? If this is the end of me, let me not die without seeing your face one… more time… they have me bound, the most humiliating position for an Amazon to be in… they have beaten me… they have stripped me of my uniform, but they could not remove my bracelets… Ras insisted my royal tiara stay on… this humiliation…they have tormented me here amongst these stalagmites and overwhelming fumes from the Lazarus pits… I was created from this sort of murk and it is quite overwhelming… my pain is immense, but I think of the children I've held in Rwanda, dying of starvation and disease… I think of the rape victims that I teach self defense to in India… I think of those kids at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, those little children that have been stricken with terminal illness and light up at the sight of me… and I think of Bruce and his own pain… and my pain for loving him… it's not so bad, you see… not when I know how much others have suffered…not with…UUUUNNNNHHHH… Hera!)

Ras- Artemis was turned, and you will be turned as well, Princess. By now, my daughter has located and destroyed the detective, and if not, he will certainly die here. But you… we will make you in our master's image once you are broken and turned.

Wonder Woman/Diana- I… will… NEVER… surrender… to you!

(The fist hits my jaw and I feel my face crack and the blood go up my nose… the redhead, Fatale… she hit me… mmmpphhh… the next blow was to the upper stomach and I hold my air in as best I can, but this one hurts… MMMPPPHHH…. that one was to the same spot… I feel my toes curl off of the gravelly ground I am hanging just above… my body has been stretched and I could tell she was holding back on her first two punches to my stomach… I know she can hit a lot harder. There is an Amazon way that the woman doesn't show emotion. I am a master at this, because if you show no emotion, then your opponent doesn't know whether you are hurt or not. I've been hurt, but my eyes are the only thing that will show emotion. If I groan loudly from a blow, or groan at all, then you have really gotten me good)

Ras- Very good, Princess… this is our fourth time testing you and you continue to show impressive resistance. It will all the better when you are serving our master.

(OOF!… that punch dug in right below the navel… it hurts so much… I am a woman and I consider myself to be somewhat sensuous and aware of my body… a woman's essence is her stomach, my very core and her weakness and vulnerabilities rest in her stomach. My stomach is beautiful; I do six hundred crunches for my upper abs…they are very tight and very strong But my navel is extremely sensitive… and my lower abs are very soft… this is where she is hitting me… I have to lay off the ice cream Donna (Troy) and I eat… the punches weaken me… UMMM!! I don't know how to take them and keep a straight face…this is my weakness in the physical sense and in the mental sense… much like my upper abdominal muscles are hard… so is the outward attitude I display… WHULLLFFF!! but below my core, I am sensitive and vulnerable… Bruce…this is what I hide inside… what hurts me… what makes me weak for you… OUGHHH!!… as she hammers my stomach, I feel as though I am a pipe being hammered from the inside out… my head hangs forward, my toes barely touch the gravel floor and I feel them spread and curl with every blow… I can no longer hold my groans in as she continues her assault… I want to break free and get my hands around her neck… it is as if she is punching me and no even moving… she is so fast… but the fumes… the blows… my mind drifts off to a simpler time… we were on a mission in Paris… Bruce and I… we arrived separately, me, doing my ambassador duties and he, buying another mansion… but we stopped a plot by a cheesy villain named the French Friar to blow up four children's schools…the actual mission was easy because the Friar surrendered the moment he saw us… I then dragged Bruce to every school in Paris for the next two days to make appearances of good will as Wonder Woman and Batman… he was slightly annoyed ha ha)

Ras- Fatale… the master… he awakes!!

(I feel the binds release me and my body falls… Artemis… she carries me and throws me back in my cell… I try not to pass out amidst the fumes and the wet stink of this place… right now, breathing is a mission…)

"Diana…Diana… is that you…"

(Longshadow… he's here in the corner on the floor… he's been beaten as well… but they are saying he is too weak… great Hera, why did I bring him here? I took him under my wing; he became my student… and I have failed him…he's dying… he's going to die… and all he wanted was to be a part of the Justice League… all he wanted was to be a part of…me)

"S-s-s-s-so…c-c-c-colddd…"

(I drape my body across his and press myself against him… he's lost a lot of blood… I need to keep the pressure on somehow… this cell is freezing, but it is so hot near the pits… I can warm him… I even rub my bracelets together to generate heat and place them on his wounds…)

Diana- Be still now, Longshadow. Be still and rest; I am going to get us out of here.

LS- What… about Batman?

(Bruce… I hear Ras al Ghul's voice and I can see outside of my cell from my position atop Longshadow. The large coffin is open and there's something very massive… a shadowy hulking figure in blues and grays… the letter A on his waist… I sense so much power inside of this monster… what is he? Who is he?)

Ras- Lord Apocalypse…I have--

Apocalypse- WHY HAVE I BEEN AWAKENED FROM MY REST?

Ras- My lord, Artemis has passed her test and is fit to serve you as War. But there is a situation I must make you aware of.

Apocalypse- WHAT IS IT THEN, SERVANT?

Ras- My lord, the last of your horsemen, Death, she has been put into play. Is it her time of testing, or have the fools in Cadmus sent her out before you would give me my orders?

Apocalypse- EVERYTHING IS GOING ACCORDING TO PLAN, THEN. THE TIME OF THE GREAT PURGE WILL SOON BE. THE HUMAN FOOLS AND THEIR SILLY CONQUESTS. THEY KNOW NOTHING OF POWER AND SURVIVAL; WE WILL DESTROY THEM ALL.

Ras- And what of the Justice League and Superman? We have captured the Wonder Woman and we have been trying to turn her, but her will is strong… a lot stronger than her friend, who is dying. The Batman is still missing and the Croft woman is in my daughter's possession. Perhaps, my lord, with Death now in play, we do not need Cadmus, or Superman. Perhaps the time for the Purge can be now.

Apocalypse- WE WILL PURGE SOON ENOUGH, MY MINION. PAY THIS HUMAN BATMAN NO MIND; HE IS NO THREAT TO ME… I AM ETERNAL. IF THE WOMAN WILL NOT BE TURNED… KILL HER. OUR HUMAN SERVANTS CALLING THEMSELVES CADMUS… OUR TIME TO OVERTAKE THEM IS NEARLY AT HAND. I WILL CONTACT DEATH AND SHE WILL DEAL WITH BOTH CADMUS AND THE SO-CALLED JUSTICE LEAGUE.

(I have to get free… I have to stop this madness… but sooo… so weak…)

Apocalypse- READY MY SHIP. WE WILL LEAVE THIS PLACE AND DESTROY THE LAZARUS PITS… MY TECHNOLOGY CAN TRANSPORT THE FLUID WITH EASE, BUT MY SACTUARY HAS BEEN FOUND AND IT MUST BE DESTROYED. SOON, THIS WILL NOT MATTER. RAS AL GHUL, TAKE BANE MY HORSEMAN PESTILENCE AND BEGIN THE ATTACK. WHEN I ARRIVE, I WANT TWO CITIES TAKEN. FATALE MY HORSEWOMAN FAMINE, BREAK THE WONDER WOMAN… OR KILL HER.

(I see Fatale and Artemis approaching our cell… they grab me, but I spin kick Artemis to the ground… I was always the better… but Fatale… she drops me with a sidekick that thuds against my chest and sends me down coughing. Artemis lifts me up and cracks me across the jaw with a right cross then takes my wind with an uppercut to the pit of my stomach… I double over and Fatale hits me with an axe kick to the back of my neck, sending me down on my aching stomach… moments later, I feel myself being strapped into the binds and the electricity crackling through me again… I have never felt so weak.. So useless… Bruce… I long for you…I am not supposed to feel this way… I am not supposed to be the damsel in distress… but right now, I feel so vulnerable… my will could not possibly be being broken… no… I can't surrender…)

"Diana…"

(Bruce… I hear his voice and the pain disappears… I know I can get through this… I know I can end this…)

"Diana… come in…. Batman to Wonder Woman…"

(AHHHHH!!)

"Diana… I'm coming to get you out of there. I'm in a tough spot right now… trying to get out from under a lot of debris, but hang in there. You're strong and you're focused; you know that and so do I. I will save you."

(AHHHHHH!!…no no NO!! I will NOT give them the satisfaction of hearing another groan from me! I will fight against this horrible pain!)

Diana- Bruce… I love you… but you must come quickly… I don't know how much longer… we can last down here… Apocalypse is here.

Bruce/Batman- What? The apocalypse is here?

Diana- No… Apocalypse… huge and powerful monster… we may be facing our greatest challenge…AHHHHHH!!

Bruce- Hold on Diana.

Diana- Bruce… Bruce… AHHHHH!!

(The binds shatter and I pull myself free… I drop to my knees and look up at my captors with a smile… I broke their little toy and there's nothing they can do about it…Bruce… I don't know what's in store for me, but I hope you save the world and not try to save me… my fate may be sealed here…then I see Artemis' fist and it all goes black…)

Superman walks into the Oval Office and is surprised at how unguarded the White House is. Under the present circumstances and with recent events, he would've expected security to be on full alert. As he uses his x-ray vision, he can see that the President is not the one sitting in the chair.

Amanda Waller- Hello, Superman. Welcome back home.

Superman- Where is the President?

Waller- Oh, he had a golfing trip to go on. You know, there's a private golf course for him right under this building, in the bunker. You can't see down there, though; the walls are lead. You see, Superman, we had a feeling you would be showing up, after the bombs were dropped on Themyscira, just not so soon.

Superman- You tell the President that if something like that ever happens again, I'll personally impeach him. That was completely uncalled for and undermined the authority of the Justice League. You tell him to either leave matters to us, or be prepared to have me end his term before the general election.

Waller- Oh you will, will you? Such bravado coming from someone so easily defeated by Cadmus the last time. You have no idea what you're up against. You are the one who should be watching your back, Superman.

Superman feels weak in an instant as Waller shows him her kryptonite ring. He drops to his knees and tries to rise, but to no success.

Waller- See… you will learn where your bread is buttered and you will continue to do as we say… that means staying out of our way. You know what we have and you know what we can do. If I blink, Lois Lane dies… Ma and Pa Kent become the victims of a man made flash flood.

Superman- You… won't… harm… them…

Waller- Oh, but I will, Superman. And the Amazons of Miracle Island blame you for the attack yesterday… the one that drew Serenity away from Luthor's side long enough for you to kill him…it happened so fast, didn't it? But that wasn't you. You know who it was… it was HER. Our ultimate weapon, and you don't want the world to know about HER, now do you?

Superman- Go… to hell… Waller… no one … will believe… your lies…

Waller- But she does. She's so angry with you; she wonders why you would abandon her.

Superman- She's… a… clone…

Waller- Why don't you tell her that? Superman, do us a favor and STEP OFF. Cadmus' true purpose is not to destroy the Justice League; we can do that any time we want to. We can even do this.

With that, Superman found himself sitting back in his quarters on the Watchtower.

The Batcave… Dick Grayson/Nightwing and Tim Drake/Robin are sitting at the control desk.

Alfred- Care for some more tea, Master Dick and Master Tim?

Dick- Please, Alfred. Under these circumstances, we need to drink as much of that tea as we can.

Tim- Anything to keep us from going crazy.

Alfred- Very well then.

Dick- I still can't believe they took Cassie.

Tim- I still can't believe we haven't heard from Batman yet.

Dick- If it's one thing I've learned over the years, it's never to count him out.

Tim- I know, believe me, I know, but things have never been like this before. So many events happening so quickly.

Dick- I understand where you're coming from, Tim. But he'll figure it out; he always does. How's it going trying to reach the Watchtower?

Tim- I'm still working on it. There are so many firewalls I'm trying to bypass. I've used all the codes Batman gave me; the problem is that there's something else blocking it. I'm almost certain that Cadmus set up another wall after they discovered Luthor had given copies of that disk away.

Dick- Green Arrow, are you there?

Across town, in Gotham's lower south side, Green Arrow picks up.

Green Arrow- Still at Huntress' apartment, but we'll soon be in route to join you, Nightwing. Any word from Batman yet?

Dick- No word. His line is open, but he's not answering. And we can't get through to the Watchtower to warn them either.

Green Arrow- Our lines to the Watchtower are down also. I don't know what's going on. They were still open a few moments ago. I still can't get over Cadmus and the United States government going into business with Ras al Ghul.

Dick- That one stunned me too, GA. Go into business with a terrorist to eliminate other terrorists. And still no Osama Bin Laden.

Green Arrow- They figured once they got Ras to take out the other baddies, they'd just take him out with the spy they've got in his outfit.

Dick- Yeah, her identity doesn't surprise me, but I don't think she could kill her own father. Back when I was Robin and we fought against Ras all those times, I'd wonder if Talia was secretly sabotaging his plans. Plus, Ras is an enemy of the Justice League's most intelligent member, no offense.

Green Arrow- None taken. Why do you think we're still on earth and not up there in the Watchtower? I still can't believe the stuff that's on this disk. They've got so much information on us, so many files. They know the layout of the Watchtower completely; they've got spies and workers throughout the base; they can turn our power off with the click of a freakin button! And they've got the Annihilator.

Dick- The bombs are the most immediate problem for us. We've got to get in contact with J'onn and warn him or else the results could be really bad. But there are some files that they don't have. It surprises me they don't have files on a few "old friends" of mine. I'm considering making a few phone calls and having a "class reunion" here at the Batcave once you guys get here.

Green Arrow- Good idea, because we're gonna need all the help we can get the way this is looking. Let's just hope we can get through to the Watchtower to warn J'onn about this disk. Are you on the same page as I am.

Dick- Yes… oh my God.

Green Arrow- Who is she?

Dick- She is what we would call a "worst case scenario."

On the Watchtower…

Superman is in one of the training facilities cutting loose on robots. The Man of Steel's mind is a torrid mess of conflicting thoughts. He is fighting against himself, fighting thoughts and motivations planted inside him by something else, and at the same time, fighting the values he's had inside him since birth. Did he really kill Lex Luthor? Now, his actions seem only a blur… when he remembers them, it is as if he is someone else watching the assassination take place. Has he truly made the world a better place, and at the same time, saved himself from facing his worst nightmare come true? Or is he just a slave to powers so much weaker than is he is, but so vastly more evil and more manipulative?

"Clark…"

Superman- Batman. I see your earpiece link is working. How's Egypt treating you, traitor.

Batman- Just to you, Clark. I can't get through to J'onn for some reason. But I am able to contact Wonder Woman and a few others.

Superman- You mean Green Arrow and that group? You think I couldn't hear their heartbeats from across the street when I killed Luthor? You think I didn't notice that they weren't present for the meeting this morning? I could fly to that apartment right now and take those traitors to custody.

Batman- Is that what Cadmus has you telling the others? That we're all traitors somehow working with Luthor against the Justice League. What hold do they have on you, Clark?

Superman- They don't have ANYTHING on me, Bruce. They have NOTHING on me because I am unstoppable and I could take them all out with the snap of my fingers.

Batman- Yes, you're so super, and so angry so quickly. Then why don't you do it? If you can really end all this madness, why don't go ahead? Still trying to fight off that weak dose of mind control you were given? Or is it something else?

Superman- I… don't know what you're talking about.

Batman- You were captured by Cadmus and given an assignment. That assignment was to assassinate Lex Luthor. Apparently, they also gave you a little attitude adjustment. I can tell you've been fighting against it… but your own arrogance is preventing you from overtaking it.

Superman- You talk to me about ARROGANCE?

Batman- Search yourself, Clark. I've been told about Luthor's assassination and about your actions on Miracle Island… you slaughtered those Amazons. Were you secretly in on the bombing of Themyscira as well?

Superman- That's where you're wrong, Bruce. I had nothing to do with the massacre on Miracle Island and I didn't know that Themyscira would be bombed. I didn't know Artemis was coming to Metropolis.

Batman- Then what did you know, Clark? When you were in their custody, what did you learn?

Superman- I…I…

Batman- Come on, Clark. You've got to think and fight off the aggression. Cadmus is under the control of an immortal and very powerful being named Apocalypse. I believe his technology was used in your own "disorderly conduct." I don't think Amanda Waller is aware of what has infiltrated her little outfit and that's the danger of going into business with Ras al Ghul.

Superman- You learned all this from that disk Luthor gave you.

Batman- I haven't studied it fully because there's so much information on it. But everything I've learned so far has either dropped my jaw or just pissed me off.

Superman- Then there's something you don't know about.

Batman- And that is?

Superman- Cadmus' last plan to destroy and discredit us. It's what hit Miracle Island. She's what hit Miracle Island. The survivors described the attacker as wearing an S on the chest, but that wasn't me and it definitely wasn't Kara because she was fighting Artemis.

Batman- Then who was it?

Superman- I have a daughter.

Batman- Wonderful.

Superman- Cadmus used my DNA with another's and through what I gathered is Apocalypse's technology, they were able to make a clone… a female, just as powerful as I am, if not more powerful. Brought up on memory implants just like the Ultimen… but perfect… not flawed. She's so full of rage and confusion, when I was there, I saw her.

Batman- And she's under the influence of Apocalypse… if Artemis is War, and Fatale is Famine, and Bane is Pestilence, then…

Superman- That leaves Death. Bruce, they could kill Lois, Kara, they could wipe us all out. She's that powerful.

Batman- Where's your strength, Clark? And by the way… who else's DNA was used to create this clone?

Superman- Wonder Woman.

Batman- …

Superman- She thinks we abandoned her. She's full of hate for us.

Batman- I suggest you evacuate the Watchtower and turn yourself in to the Green Lantern Corps.

Superman- I'm going to make this right, Bruce. You don't understand. I will seek out my daughter and together, we will defeat Apocalypse.

Batman- You're still speaking in Nietzsche-isms, Superman.

Superman- Very funny. But I will succeed, Apocalypse will be destroyed… I took down Darkseid and I'll take down Apocalypse. I'll--

Batman- SUPERMAN!!

There are the sounds of multiple BOOMS on Superman's end. Meanwhile on Themyscira, Queen Cleopatra of Miracle Island, a beautiful woman, 5'9" 140 lbs with buttermilk skin and shiny silvery blue eyes, and long braided hair, dressed in white and carrying her spear meets Queen Hyppolyta, who is surrounded by her Amazon guard. Serenity is with Cleopatra and the two Queens share a word. When Cleopatra speaks, her voice is like a melody, an urban melody, there's so much jazz and blues in her voice.

Cleopatra- We appreciate your hospitality, my sister.

Hyppolyta- Miracle Island was hit hard by a relative of Superman's, and my daughter Diana is still missing.

Cleopatra- I have word that Atlantis has fallen to an invading force led by the terrorist Ras al Ghul… both Aquaman's Atlantis and Prince Namor's Atlantis… they took both cities in a matter of hours. They took Miracle Island yesterday, as you know. I would have stayed there and fought to the death, but Serenity would not have that.

Serenity- My Queen's safety and the preservation of my Amazon sisters is my top priority. You are both aware that they will be coming here next?

Hyppolyta- How are you so sure?

Serenity- I know this… I can sense it. Lex Luthor warned me of a being named Apocalypse who would soon rise and terrorize the world. Your own Artemis is working for him. I am ready to fight against this monster to the death.

Hyppolyta- And what of the Justice League?

Shayera lands holding her mace.

Shayera- We had nothing to do with it.

Serenity- And why should we believe you?

Shayera- Because I'm here. Oh no… that can't be…

In the sky, far up as far as the eye can see, the Watchtower burns… in Egypt, the Lazarus pits are nearly empty as a large Shi'ar styled spaceship full of robotic clones of Apocalypse is charging up to depart. Talia, Artemis, Fatale, and Apocalypse are getting on board the ship. Talia finds a nice private area of the ship.

Talia- Beloved, are you there?

Batman answers and responds…

Batman- Yes Talia.

Talia- You must hurry, beloved. We are leaving for Themyscira; my father and Bane poisoned both cities of Atlantis. They are now in Apocalypse's possession. They have conquered Miracle Island and they have loaded many many weapons for the invasion of Themyscira. Something has happened on the Watchtower as well.

Batman- I'm already here… Robin, come in.

Robin- (from the Batcave) I'm here; we've been worried about you--

Batman- Listen, I'm sending you the coordinates to my location in Egypt and my homing signal. Apocalypse is planning an invasion of Themyscira.

Robin- Who's Apocalypse?

Batman- Long story. I need you to get Nightwing, Green Arrow, and the others and go to Themyscira.

Robin- But what about you? We can come to Egypt and pick you up.

Batman- No. Go to Themyscira… and Robin, if anything happens to me, Alfred will take care of you.

Nightwing- Batman, I have some back-up coming. Zantanna is hear also. There's also a player you don't know about because I assume that you haven't completely analyzed the disk Luthor gave you. Cadmus took Superman and Wonder Woman's DNA and--

Batman- I am aware of that. Get your crew together and go to Themyscira. I hope your friends have grown up, Dick. You know, they're not teens anymore.

Nightwing- Well, not all of them… we're going to make a stop at the containment facility in Washington and get Wonder Girl.

Batman- Do what you have to…Diana… are you there?

(I hear his voice… his low, dark voice… so full of concern for me)

Diana- I'm here, Bruce… I'm just weak.

Batman- They're going to blow this place up. We still have a chance to stop them. Diana, I've got a lot of bad news, but I'm going to save it for later. Now, we've got to stop Apocalypse.

Diana- Bruce… Longshadow…he's dying… we have to get him help…

Batman- And we will. But now, we have to stop Apocalypse. They are going to invade Themyscira.

(And those words are all I need… something swells up inside of me… I can no longer hold it in… the pain is so great… but my rage… my hatred for this place and these people… invade MY home…NO!! The door to my cell flies off as I carry Longshadow out into and murky fumy caves. Despite the liquid being nearly gone, the fumes are still overpowering, but I cannot concern myself with that. I see the monster… Apocalypse at the top of the ramp leading onto the ship)

Apocalypse- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! IT'S TOO LATE, FOOLISH WOMAN… YOU ARE UNFIT TO SERVE WITH ME… I HAVE ONE WHO IS FAR YOUNGER AND MORE POWERFUL!! YOU WILL DIE HERE, AHAHAHHAHAHA!!

(A series of explosions are set off and the whole place is collapsing as I see Apocalypse's ship blasting fire everywhere… his mechanical laughter… that monster… Artemis faces me… my sister, my rival… turned into something evil by this monster… I don't have time to waste)

Diana- Longshadow… be still, I'm going to have to put you down.

Artemis/War- I've been waiting a long time for this moment, Diana. After I kill you, the mantle of Wonder Woman will be mine and this world will belong to Apocalypse. You don't know how long I've waited to--UNNNHHHH!!

Diana- Wait a little longer.

(My fist cracks against her jaw and my boot kicks her in the chest, a blatant sign of disrespect, as females do not hit each other in the chest, but a sign that sends her flying into her master… but no! the monster's body just opens up and she passes through… what sort of creature is this? AARRGHHH!! His eyes shoot red beams that hurt me as I go down…there are rocks falling everywhere…I see Batman rushing to me…)

Batman- Diana!!

Diana- Stop… Apocalypse…

(He grabs me and throws me out of the way of a falling boulder… as powerful as I am and he still wants to protect me… how sweet…I regain my feet and Longshadow has his foot on the nose of the ship… he has grown in size and is holding the roof of this place… trying to stop it all from caving in on us… but the monster… Apocalypse… grows in size and meets Longshadow face to face…he will kill him unless…)

Wonder Woman flies up and lands a thunderous blow to Apocalypse's jaw… despite his gigantic size, the immortal mutant is rocked by the blow. He morphs his shoulders into machine guns and begins to fire at Wonder Woman, but she is able to avoid his blasts. However, more of the place is being destroyed and Longshadow continues to struggle holding it all together.

Apocalypse- THE TIME TO LEAVE THESE WEAK MISERABLE FOOLS IS NOW!! WAR, FAMINE, DESTROY THEM!!

Artemis flies towards Wonder Woman, but Batman's grappling hook wraps itself around her and down she goes. As she struggles to break it, a specially made nerve gas hits her. Wonder Woman continues to land blows on Apocalypse and avoids his blasts. The monster shoots blades from his body at a rapid rate, trying to spear Diana, but Diana avoids them… unfortunately, they are hitting and severely cutting Longshadow… but he continues to hold together the roof. Apocalypse's robotic clones begin flying out of the ship and firing on Wonder Woman as Apocalypse shrinks back down and reenters the ship. Batman now finds himself engaged in a fight with Fatale… the redheaded assassin fires lightning fast kicks at the dark knight detective and has Batman backing up. Batman is wearing a gas mask to protect himself from the fumes and from his own gases as he shoots a pellet at Fatale, only to have the assassin swat it away and hit him across the face in the same motion. Batman sees a flash of red, blue, and gold, and the assassin goes down without making a sound. Diana grabs Fatale by her throat and squeezes… the assassin still wears a smile on her emotionless face.

Diana- You are the one who refuses to speak… you tortured me!! Now beg me for mercy!!

Batman- Diana… that's enough!

Diana- No it's not!! Do you have any idea what she has put me through?!

An explosion knocks Batman and Diana ten feet away from where they were moments ago.

Diana- Bruce… are you alright?

Batman- I will be once we stop Apocalypse.

Longshadow's body collapses as Batman shoots a homing beacon onto the ship. As Longshadow falls, he smashes one of the ship's engines.

Batman- We can still stop them.

Diana- I'm going to go for it now!!

Diana flies right at the ships closing door… but something intercepts her, something fast, female, and familiar… her shoulder rams deep into Diana's stomach, stealing the air from the already battered Amazon. As Diana lands on the gravelly ground and watches as Artemis and Fatale quickly board the ship, she glances at the face of this new player… a tall girl with long curly black hair and dark blue eyes… an Amazon… but wearing a black and red uniform with a cape… and is that a blood red S on her chest. Her eyes suddenly are ablaze as Diana looks at this girl in wonder.

"You abandoned me, Mother… abandoned me… for HIM!"

Batman can only look in the direction the beams come from before they burn him… Batman is now horribly burned across his torso and head… Diana screams and goes to his aid as he lands right by Longshadow, who looks at Diana…

Longshadow- Did I do well, Diana? Did I do the heroic thing?

Diana- Yes, you did, Longshadow… you did well…Bruce… Bruce… say something…

Longshadow- Diana… it's Bruce again…

Diana- He's badly hurt, Longshadow…he's burned badly…Bruce…

Longshadow- Tell me something, Diana… could we have ever…you know… been together…

Diana- No…I'm in love with Bruce… and I'm going to get both of you to safety before this place collapses on us… I just have to get you to my jet… lots of medical equipment there and two healing chambers.

Longshadow- No, Diana… you don't have to do that for me… I love you… I always will… thank you for helping me be a hero.

Longshadow's heart stops beating and Diana begins to shed tears as she is on her knees, one hand on Longshadow's heart, the other on Batman's… she can still hear the ship's noise as it blasts through up through the roof of the catacombs and out into the hot Egyptian sky…she stands and prepares to take them out of the collapsing cave… all she has to do is get Batman to the medical equipment in her jet, even as she mourns Longshadow's death…but a hard boot to her belly doubles her over with an OOOOUUUUGGGGHHHH!! She clutches her stomach and looks up… Her heart freezes as she sees her new challenge… the tall, muscular vicious, black haired gray skinned assassin looks down at her and at the blood she just vomited on his boot as he takes a bite out of a Snickers bar.

Lobo- Hey Wonder Wench… not going anywhere for a while?

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own any of the DC or Marvel characters in this story. I see several people have added this story to their list of alerts and favorites; I am humbled and quite appreciative of that gesture. I would love to read a reply from some of you; you know, things I can do better, things you liked. Of course, a big nod to Diana Rulz for always being so supportive and to the others who have replied. I am trying to find my rhythm with this again and still trying to clear up some of the Cadmus/Apocalypse/Superman clutter as far as who's on who's side and so on. Please bare with me. I have a feeling this chapter will be a bit easier to understand.

"Atom Smasher…dead…Blue Devil…dead…B'wana Beast…dead…Gypsy…dead…Hourman…dead…Red Tornado…dead…"

He sits in the burning Watchtower as it heads down to earth. J'onn is unconscious and in his more Martian form nearby, but the Man of Steel is paying it no mind. He can hear their hearts stopping as the explosions continue…

"Crimson Avenger…dead…Stargirl…dead…Mr. Terrific…dead…S.T.R.I.P.E…dead… Crimson Fox…dead…Vigilante…"

Vigilante crawls into the room very slowly… he's hurt badly and he's without his cowboy hat.

Vigilante- Superman…what in Sam Hill happened?

Superman- The end…the END.

Metamorpho arrives with Supergirl, Fire, Ice, and Elongated Man, who is also badly hurt.

Fire- Wildcat…

Superman- He's DEAD.

Fire- I barely knew him… he dove on one of the explosives and sacrificed himself for us.

Vigilante- A true hero and a man… but we've still got to figure this situation out.

Superman- It's easy. Get to the javelins and get out of here. The whole place is burning.

Supergirl- We may be able to put the fires out and we could carry it down.

Superman- You let me worry about that, Kara. You do everything you can… save as many as you can… but they're aren't that many left to save.

Brutality

Chapter 6

"Takeover"

"She sits alone

An empty stare

Her mother's face

She wears

Where did she go wrong?

The fight is gone

Lord, help this broken home…"

-- "Mother, Father" by Journey

Near Themyscira, flying near Apocalypse's ship… she watches through her crystal blue eyes as the Watchtower burns, her long curly black hair flapping in the wind, the blood red S on her chest outlined in black, her long flowing cape… an Amazon and an alien.

Deep underground in Egypt…Lobo holds Batman up by his neck as Diana looks at the tall hitman. Batman is severely burned and Lobo is lighting a cigar off of Batman's head. Diana frowns in anger and balls up her fists, but she is still so weak from the fumes and from her fight against the combined might of Apocalypse, Fatale, Artemis, and now, a new player, a long haired girl, appearing to be in her late teens, with long curly black hair, crystal blue eyes, and a black and red suit, complete with an S on her chest. Who was this girl and why did Diana find her so familiar? Diana glares angrily at the hitman. The reaction Lobo gives her is laughter.

Lobo- What are you gonna do about it, girly? I could break his neck with a snap of my fingers.

Diana- Lobo… what are you doing here? You're a member of the Justice League, remember?

Lobo- Ahem… uhhh…you know, I don't quite remember you being all that open to me joining. If my memory serves me right, baby, you grabbed me and slammed me… then you punched me for no freakin reason the second I showed up at yer little blender in the sky (see the episode titled "Hereafter")

Diana- We don't have time for this. Batman is going to die and my homeland will be destroyed unless you get out of my way.

Lobo- I don't care. You're gonna have to work harder to gain my affections, baby. After all, I'm on a contract to take you out… so I suggest you (singing) try a little tendernesssssssss!!

Diana's temper finally gets the best of her and she charges Lobo… the gray-skinned hitman holds Batman in her way and Diana stops. She takes a deep breath as more of the ceiling in the catacombs comes crashing down into what remains of the Lazarus pits. Lobo's eyes widen a bit and he pops his eyebrows up and down twice. Finally, Diana realizes that she must take a different approach with this man.

Diana- You came for me. Put him down and you can have me.

Diana is wearing only a white garb and her bracelets. Well, she has on undergarments as well obviously, but she is barefoot. Lobo stares down at Diana's feet as licks his lips.

Lobo- You know, a woman who takes care of her feet takes care of everything else. Damn you got some sexy toes.

Diana almost sneers at that comment, but fakes a smile, turns around, raises her arms above her head and begins to back up. She gets about three feet away from Lobo and lifts her garb up, revealing a pair of white shorts as Lobo licks his own blood off of his lips from biting them at the sight of Diana's bottoms.

Diana- As you can see, I am unarmed. Take me, Lobo.

Lobo tosses Batman down next to Diana and she leans down, placing his gasmask on and checking his pulse. Diana is still very weak, but every moment she can buy, she feels her strength returning, despite the fumes making her feel anemic and the fact that she must resort to this sort of tactic against such a powerful adversary making her sick to her stomach. It's also the desperation of this situation. Both Longshadow and Batman are down. Longshadow's heart has stopped beating… but Diana has not given up hope. As she backs into Lobo, she takes another deep breath.

Diana- Make sure you have a secure grip on me. I'm not going to try anything. So go ahead and get your grip.

Lobo places one hand around Diana's neck and the other one around her lower abdomen. Diana can feel his breath on her neck as she looks down at Batman and feels her heart sink.

Diana- I know what you really want, Lobo. You complained earlier about my actions when you tried to join the Justice League… but let's face it, you know you enjoyed having my hands on you.

Lobo stops to consider what is being said.

Diana- Now, it appears you have me at a disadvantage. The true question is… what are you going to do about it?

Lobo- Well, the Main Man doesn't--

Diana- Think about this, Lobo. We are going to fight… you are here to kill me, or you're working with Apocalypse. But I am allowing you the opportunity to have an advantage and you have taken it. The question still stands… can you take me?

Lobo- I think I liked you better in your costume. I have a thing for those blue bottoms you wear with the stars and that bustier you wear.

Diana- (getting angry) That's not a bustier and I don't wear a costume! Okay, sorry. Well, if you let me go, I can change into it. After, I'll let you get your grip back.

Lobo lets her go. He still intends to kill her… he just likes his fun and he watches as Diana spins and spins and changes into her uniform, then she backs up into him again.

Lobo- You know, babe, you're not so bad after all. You've got honor, you know? All my travels in the universe and all the bastichs I've laid to rest… I've gotta say… you're in a class by yourself. You want me to do ya up close… ya ain't even givin me a fight. I guess I've learned that not all you women are as dumb as the stuff running out of your mouths.

Diana- And do you know what I've learned Lobo, in all my travels through the galaxy and my missions here on Earth?

Lobo- What's that?

Diana- I've learned that most of you men are about as smart as all the dung in Apollo's stables!!

Diana rams her head into Lobo's face, smashing his nose and stunning him. She then throws her leg back and hard into Lobo's crotch… her toned and beautiful calf slams between Lobo's legs and makes a crunching noise as Lobo doubles over. Diana doesn't believe that these seductive and dirty tactics are honorable, but she feels that desperate situations call for desperate actions. Diana reaches back and locks Lobo's head down on her right shoulder with her right hand, then jumping up, lands on her buttocks and slams Lobo's chin and throat across her shoulder in a version of the Stone Cold Stunner. Lobo is shot off of Diana and lands on his back. Diana wastes no time grabbing the Lasso of Truth and throwing it around Lobo, then throwing him around the catacombs, slamming him through wall after wall after wall. Lobo is out of it and Diana walks up to him and punches him in the face several times, fighting back her instinctive Amazon urges for combat and trying not to lose herself in punishing Lobo.

Diana- Who sent you? (punches him again) Who in Hera's name sent you? Are you working with Apocalypse? (punches him again) ANSWER ME!!

Lobo- (slowly) Ares sent me. He hired me to kill you.

Diana- ARES?!

Lobo- You and Thor made a fool of him. He wanted revenge (see my first story here and the prequel to this one, "Days of Thunder").

Diana- Does Ares have anything to do with Apocalypse?

Lobo- I don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Diana- Well, he won't have his revenge.

Lobo- Yes he will.

Diana- And how is that going to happen?

Lobo- I am going to kill you.

Diana- This is the Lasso of Truth, you ignorant dolt! Once entangled in my lasso, you are under my control. You must tell the truth and you are under my control. I still can't believe you honestly fell for that trick earlier. To think that a woman of my class and my stature would be attracted to a miserable, insufferable, despicable--

Lobo- But I am telling ya the truth. I am going to break your lasso and beat you to death.

Diana's eyes widen as Lobo tenses up. She struggles to hold onto her lasso and tightens it even more around the hitman… but the impossible becomes possible and Lobo snaps the lasso!! Wonder Woman takes a moment to look down at the pieces of the lasso… Lobo notices a brief look of discouragement on the face of the Amazon (it should be noted that in the Trinity trade paperback, Bizarro snapped Diana's lasso, so it has been done).

Lobo- Let's dance, sweetheart.

Diana charges Lobo and hammers the hitman back with lefts and rights to his jaw, then doubles him over with a knee to his stomach, jumps on his shoulders, locking her firm legs around his neck, then flipping and throwing him down on his back in a wrestling move called the hurracana or the frankensteiner. Wasting no time, Diana mounts the massively muscular hitman and begins to pummel him with punches, but Lobo turns his head causing Diana's fists to hit the ground, and while she isn't feeling the pain, he stuns her with a head butt, grabbing her forearms and causing her to hiss as he applies pressure to the insides of her elbows with his thumbs. He head butts her three more times before she goes airborne, pulling him up and slinging him into the collapsing ceiling. She grabs him by his neck and slams him hard into the floor. She interlocks her fingers and brings down double axe handle blow after blow, but he freezes her with a hard kick between her legs and she rolls off of him coughing. He easily climbs out of the hole she pounded him into and stands over her.

Lobo- Are the warm-ups over? I'm not even breathing hard… you're supposed to be getting me hot, baby, you ain't doing your job. But that's cool. The Main Man's gonna show ya how it's done!

Meanwhile… Cassandra Sandsmark aka Wondergirl sits in a Washington DC containment cell… but not for long. The cell is blasted open by a blue energy beam as a muscular African American male wearing a trench coat walks in.

Cassandra- Okay, now what?

Nightwing approaches and so does Robin.

Nightwing- Okay, let's go Cassie.

A few moments later, after being teleported back to the Batcave, the reunion begins. Though they're a bit older, Cyborg, Starfire, Beastboy, Raven, and the former Robin now known as Nightwing are talking just like old times. Green Arrow, Question, Black Canary, and Huntress are there and Zatanna is as well.

Starfire- It is so superlative to see you, Nightwing.

Nightwing- Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.

Robin- (whispering) You're going to have to tell me about this one later.

Nightwing- Will do.

Cyborg- Well, since we're all back together, man, I'm wondering when we're gonna go kick the crap outta something.

Starfire- All things in moderation, Cyborg, including moderation. We cannot take an amorphous approach to resolving this conflict.

Raven- Well, you've got us here, Nightwing.

Beastboy- I feel great just being here! The band is back together, guys… the Teen Titans are back!

Cyborg- Bumblebee, Speedy, and Aqualad are on their way.

Huntress- What a bunch of dweebs.

Cyborg- What did you say?

Huntress- I'm looking forward to breaking something and you guys just turned this into an after school special.

Raven- Hey, we're not that much younger than you are. We might even be the same age, so watch your mouth.

Huntress- Or else what?

Cyborg- (to Black Canary) Is she always this friendly?

Black Canary- You're asking the wrong person.

Green Arrow- Look ladies and gents, nobody's wanting to go and do something else right now more than I am, okay? But despite our differences and despite our obvious confusion with whatever's going on here, we have to get to Egypt and get Batman so he can tell us what our next move is.

Huntress- And who put you in charge?

Cyborg- Yeah, who indeed? We can make our own moves and I'm moving to take down Apocalypse NOW.

Green Arrow- Nobody put me in charge of anything. I'm just saying what we need to do.

Robin- Guys, we really don't have time to argue with one another. We've got a team, so let's get going.

Meanwhile, aboard the Watchtower… more escape pods launch as the Watchtower continues to burn and Superman continues to sit. Galatea, clone of Supergirl, defeated by Supergirl and Steel during a Cadmus invasion of the Watchtower months ago and reintroduced as Powergirl, stands by Superman. With her are Superboy and Captain Atom.

Powergirl- You know, Superman, when I joined this team, I felt that I had something to prove. I'd been living my life trying to prove that I deserve to exist.

Superman- Sand… dead… Creeper… dead… Starman…dead… what have I done?

Powergirl- I got so obsessed with eliminating Kara, that I forgot the truest lesson in life. And that lesson is that I'm not just some imitation of her… I have a purpose. If I am alive, then I have a purpose, whether I'm a clone or not. I feel… human, you know? I feel like… I have a soul. I am no longer a pawn of Cadmus, hell, I went toe-to-toe with Thor! I would've never found a purpose had it not been for the Justice League.

Superman- Why are you telling me this now?

Powergirl- Because… you always remember the good times when you're at the end.

Captain Atom- You know what you must do. You know fully what has to be done. We can't have another repeat of this.

Superboy- Time to go, Big Blue. Time to do the right thing. Time to do what we were put here to do.

Themyscira…

The Amazons are fighting valiantly against the forces of Apocalypse, but the hundreds of robots have quickly become thousands, invading the island and killing everything that shows any resistance. Shayera takes out ten of those robots with just a swing of her mace as they close in on her. She can see Apocalypse standing atop the floating ship, watching stoically. Artemis breaks a neck of one of her Amazon sisters, but is knocked to the ground by Shayera. Amazons close in quickly on Artemis, but are gunned down by the redheaded assassin with the pupiless eyes known as Fatale… the horseman Famine. The Amazons shoot arrows at Fatale, but she dodges them and kills the Amazons just as quickly with her guns.

Hyppolyta- Murderers!! Sisters, to me!! Charge!!

The queen of Themyscira is on horseback and charges Fatale, but Artemis lands a jumping kick that hit's the queen just below her left breast and with an "umph!," Hyppolyta is knocked from her horse. High above the island, Serenity battles the hybrid daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman and lands repeated blows to the black haired girl's face, backing her up across the sky.

Serenity- You are the one responsible for the destruction of Miracle Island!! I will personally enjoy putting an end to you!

The black haired hybrid grabs Serenity's fist and drives a knee deep into the black Amazon's stomach, forcing a loud "Ough!!" from her and then pulling her into a full nelson.

"You've got a lot of heart," she says, "but heart won't win this war for you. My name is Trinity and I am power."

Serenity struggles against Trinity's grip as the Kryptonian Amazon tightens with relative ease and causes tremendous pain. Serenity forces with all her strength and manages to break Trinity's grip, then turns around, nails Trinity in the jaw, grabs her by her shoulders and throws her to the ground, but Trinity is able to stop herself in mid air before hitting the ground, flies up and slams a two fisted shot to Serenity's throat, knocking the black girl through the air and into a temple's steeple.

Meanwhile, Shayera closes in on Apocalypse, and it seems as though none of his robots are stopping her. She's taking out robots almost at the same rate that Fatale is taking out Amazons, but these flying imitations of Apocalypse just keep on coming.

Shayera- Coward!! You say you are all powerful; you say you are the strong… SHOW ME!!

Apocalypse- THEN COME TO ME, CHILD.

On the ground, Hyppolyta lands a vicious kick to Artemis' nose and the redheaded horseman known as War goes down, but does a backwards somersault and gets to her feet.

Hyppolyta- You betrayed your Amazon sisters, Artemis! How could you do this? No matter… I will take you down.

Hyppolyta charges in, her sword and shield ready, but Artemis, showing blazing speed, steps in and punches the queen to the heart.

Hyppolyta- Uggh…uggh…uggh…

Hyppolyta drops to the ground on her back, her left leg shaking as Artemis stands over the queen.

Artemis- Apocalypse has given me strength and power that is beyond your understanding, Hyppolyta. And by now, Diana is dead and the Justice League are destroyed. There is nothing that will stop us!!

Egypt…

Diana groans an "UNNHHH!!" as she takes a left hook to her jaw and stumbles, trying to plant her feet as Lobo pauses, then pokes her sternum hard enough to cause her to grip her teeth and take a step back. Diana has definitely been landing more shots to the gray skinned killer, but Lobo has been getting in his shots as well, and Diana has been noticing that Lobo doesn't seem to be tiring; his breathing has picked up considerably, but that seems to be more so because he's getting excited. She lands two hard shots to both his eyes and he slaps her hard to her temple, forcing another "UNNHH!" from her as she goes down on her back and blood comes from her mouth. She looks up at him as he licks the blood she inadvertently spat on him from the corner of his mouth.

Lobo- Mmmm… tastes great, but less filling. Your blood is so rich… it's everything that would be expected of you.

Diana looks over at Batman and sees that he's barely moving. She thrusts herself forward, slamming her head into Lobo's stomach and driving him back with a WHOOF!! As Lobo is sliding back and Diana is charging, the large hitman grabs Diana by her armpits and throws her upward and over his shoulders, slamming her to the ground. She gets up quickly and throws a winging right hand at him, but he catches her fist and gives her a submarine shot aimed for her stomach, but Diana turns and takes it to the ribs.

Diana- Uhhhh…hssss…

Lobo- Come here and give me a big kiss!

Lobo pulls Diana close and sticks his tongue out, trying to kiss her, and he succeeds… Diana's eyes widen and she bites down hard on the hitman's tongue, drawing blood and repeatedly kneeing the Main Man to the crotch. Diana's teeth sink deep into Lobo's tongue as she is trying to tear it clean off; tears are running down her face from the effort she's putting into this fight and the unbearable heat of the catacombs. Lobo grabs Diana by the breastplate covering her right breast and squeezes hard.

Diana- AHHHH!!

Diana releases Lobo and goes down on her side; she looks at her garb and the gold is crushed. There is the outline of Lobo's fingers around her right breast in bloody prints as she grits her teeth and gets to her feet. Lobo is doing pushups, mocking Diana as she slowly rises.

Lobo- Was that as good for you as it was for me, baby? Oh, you don't want to talk now, huh? Are the warm-ups over, princess? Are they?

Diana growls as she jumps at Lobo, nailing him with a left hook-right cross combination to his jaw and his left eye respectively. He steps back and as she comes in, he ducks her kick attempt and lands a left to her right side.

Diana- Uhhhh!!

Diana instantly brings her elbows in and lowers her arms, but Lobo swings in a short right cross straight into Wonder Woman's stomach, a decimeter above her navel.

Diana- OOH!

Diana squats as Lobo bends her back, picking her up and slamming her to the ground in a modified sidewalk slam.

Diana- Uhhh… hufff…uffff…uhhhh…

Lobo drives his elbow down on Diana's stomach, right in the pit of it, and Diana's body comes off the ground with an UFFF! sound as Lobo stands back up and Diana curls to a fetal ball breathing heavily.

Lobo- I'm trying not to hit ya in the face, so's that ya can look all pretty for your open casket funeral… but you know I couldn't give a crap one way or the other. Come on, baby!

Diana gets to her feet and raises her arms. She feints a shot at Lobo, but realizes that he's out of range just as he hits her with a straight right to the pit of her stomach, bending her with an "ooohhh" sound as she regroups. She goes in with a front kick to his stomach, but he catches her foot, hits another right to her stomach, hears her make an "ummpphh!!" sound and pushes her back, then moves in and slaps her once to the face and another to the belly, then pushes her back as she looks weakly at Batman and Longshadow, swallows hard, touching her stomach and taking in slow deep breaths.

Lobo- There once was a Wonder Woman who lived in a shoe, she had so many lovers, she didn't know what to do. She asked Lobo for advice, but he just shook her, and said 'that's what you get for being a hooker!'

She goes in and hammers him with right left right left right left right left right left right left, hitting his face with relentless punishment, but he gets his arms up to block many of the punches and gets a sneaky submarine shot to her lower abdomen, an inch below her navel, forcing a piercing "OOP!!" from her as she falls forward into him, only for him to push her back.

Lobo- Aww… I didn't know you cared, sweet cheeks! Try to keep up, baby, don't lose the intensity!

Themyscira… burns…the Amazons have fought valiantly, but Hyppolyta and Cleopatra's forces are losing badly, now that the hybrid daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman known as Trinity, has turned her eye beams on them. Fatale is killing with no remorse, an Amazon herself, sworn to silence until her own homeland is freed from the oppressive rule of a male dictator, now under the control of Apocalypse. Serenity lies broken, battered, and beaten at the feet of Trinity as tosses the Amazon hero to the ground.

Trinity- Here is your champion… here is a woman who's strength could move mountains, whose skin could not be pierced by bullets… here she is… defeated…surrender now, or share her fate.

Cleopatra- Charge her, my sisters! To the death!

Trinity- If you say so.

Trinity's heat vision vaporizes the charging Amazon front line instantly as Cleopatra and the others stop dead in their tracks just as Trinity burns a hole deep into the earth, causing water from below the island to shoot up, resulting in instant flooding on the island. Trinity continues to burn the island with her heat vision and destroying the Amazons and their weaponry, losing herself in the joy of the slaughter. Cleopatra takes a blast straight to her chest, and drops off her horse, badly burned. Meanwhile, Shayera swings her mace wildly at Apocalypse, who only changes his shape to avoid her blows, all the while taunting her.

Apocalypse- GOOD… USE YOUR ANGER AND YOUR HATRED TO DESTROY ME, CHILD. I CAN FEEL THE POWER COURSING THROUGH YOU… FIGHT WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND ALL YOUR GIFTS… YOU MUST HATE ME TO KILL ME… YESSSSSS… THAT'S IT…

Shayera- SHUT UP!!

Shayera follows the changing shape of Apocalypse deeper and deeper into a darkness that she doesn't understand… it seems as though this black hole is surrounding her as she can only see the immortal mutant's face and hear his robotic voice as he continues.

Apocalyspe- YESSSS… LET YOUR HATRED CARRY YOU TO ME… ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DESTROY ME AND YOU WILL SAVE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS… BUT IF YOU DO NOT… YOU WILL ALL DIE….

Apocalypse grabs Shayera's mace and snatches it away, elongating his finger and knocking her down. Shayera realizes that Apocalypse has managed to morph his body into a room, with his tall, muscular figure standing and laughing, his legs spreading into the bluish gray symbiotic substance that surrounds her.

Shayera- If I must, I will kill you.

Apocalypse- YESSS… COME AND FULFILL YOUR DESTINY!

Shayera- You've seen too many Star Wars movies… I'll--ARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!

Shayera feels the worst pain she's ever felt in her life and curls into a fetal ball. Her deafening scream is heard across the battlefield and causes all the combatants to stop for a moment. Apocalypse emerges with an unconscious Shayera on the ground, bleeding badly as Apocalypse holds one of her newly ripped off wings in each of his hands.

Trinity- You ripped her wings off.

Apocalypse- THIS ONE WE WILL KEEP. I HAVE AN IDEA FOR HER "REBIRTH." AN IDEA ONCE USED BEFORE, BUT THIS TIME, THERE WILL BE NO BETRAYAL. (to the Amazons, still in shock of what they have seen) SURRENDER THIS ISLAND AND ALL ITS TECHNOLOGY… BECOME MY SLAVES, OR DIE WHERE YOU STAND.

Superman, Superboy, Powergirl, and Captain Atom land outside the White House and are immediately surrounded by soldiers. The four heroes raise their hands.

Superman- We are turning ourselves in.

Lobo moves in as Diana stands with her mouth open, trying to get air and to regroup, but the gray skinned black haired assassin drives six devastating knees into Wonder Woman's stomach and drops her to the ground in serious pain. Each knee feels like it could be the end of life for Diana, each knee drives a horrific groan from her, each knee makes winning seem less and less likely as her entire body seeks to shut down. Diana has been battling Lobo for quite some time now, and the body shots he's given her are really taking their toll, but her will is holding up. She realizes that she is losing badly, but she's never given up and she'll go down fighting… that is the Amazon way. She looks once more at Batman, her love, and starts to get back up, but Lobo pulls Diana up and slams her back across his knee, then flips her over and slams her stomach across his knee… the only sound coming from Diana is the sound of her choking as Lobo begins to kick her in the side.

Lobo- My my my, grandma Lobo… what big legs you have… the better to kick the crap outta ya, my pretty!!

Diana gets to her feet, but Lobo nails her with a head butt, mounts her, and begins to head butt her repeatedly, busting her nose.

Lobo- My my my grandma Lobo… what a big head you have… the better to butt your freakin face in, my pretty!!

Lobo pulls Diana up, but the Wonder Woman drives a knife edged jab right into his throat.

Lobo- Ackkkkk…. Akkkkkkkkk…. Just kidding, baby.

Diana draws back and throws a haymaker right hand, but Lobo catches her fist and squeezes it, crushing her hand as she winces and her legs buckle. Lobo slams a hard right hand to Diana's ribs, breaking the entire set on her left side. Diana makes no noise and drops to her knees.

Lobo- That cracking sound reminds me of a kill I did about four years ago on this buxom blonde, she was a real looker… body like a model but a brain like a grilled cheese sandwich… I broke her ribs too and she moaned so loud…that's what your ribs breaking reminds me of… nahhh, it doesn't remind me of that… yours is a lot rougher, but it sure does sound just as kinky.

"Flash to Wonder Woman… Flash to Wonder Woman… come in, Wonder Woman… the Watchtower has exploded… Green Lantern, Vixen, and I are on a Javelin with some of the survivors… come in, where are you??"

Lobo- So, the damn things are working again… aren't you gonna answer that, baby?

Diana- Go… to… hell…

Lobo- Who is this guy? Is he another one of your lovers? You've been cheating on me, baby? You're breaking my poor sweet heart!

Lobo loops his chain around Diana's neck and gets on his bike. As the underground base continues to slowly fall apart, Lobo revs up his bike, then drags Diana across the gravelly ground at rapid speeds. Diana's skin is cut by the sharp rocks and she bleeds badly from Lobo's spiked chain cutting her neck and chest. With everything below her breasts aching, her face swollen and her tiara now cutting her skin, Diana knows she may not be able to take much more… but she refuses to give in. She tenses her muscles and breaks the chain, collapsing to the gravelly ground, huffing and puffing.

Lobo- That one was one of my favorite chains too. Oh well, a lasso for a chain.

Diana- I will never surrender… to you… dolt!

Lobo- Who said anything about surrender?

Diana dives at Lobo, her fingers interlocked in a double axe handle smash; she intends to hit Lobo with all her might and kill him, despite his supposedly being an immortal… but her mouth opens and her eyes widen as tears sprang out and she silently feels a horrible pain below… Lobo's knife is buried deep in the pit of her stomach. Lobo holds Diana up as the Wonder Woman's booted toes scrape the ground and her mouth and cheeks making the face similar to a dying fish. Lobo twists the blade hard and slowly lowers her down on her back.

Lobo- Shhhh…. Shhh… go to sleep now.

Lobo takes a seat on a nearby rock and watches.

Lobo- You know, all the stuff I've blown up and all the people I've taken out… I didn't care too much for watchin' em die. But with you, baby, I've gotta. You're supposed to be an immortal too… but the Main Man can kill anything.

Diana can barely hear those words as she looks up and tries to fight off the cold feeling growing inside of her. She knows that she is beaten, that Lobo has won… but she is a warrior, she is a hero… and even barely being able to understand what has happened as she fights off shock… she turns over… the knife still buried within her, and she slowly crawls towards Batman, Longshadow, and the Lazarus pits, grabbing the pieces of her lasso as she goes. Lobo humorously follows and spots Diana's small commlink on the ground.

"Green Arrow to Wonder Woman… Green Arrow to Wonder Woman… I can't get through to Batman… I've got a team and we're barely able to pick up signals from you guys… we're coming in for a rescue… Green Arrow to Wonder Woman…"

Lobo- Boy, babe, you've got a lotta men in your life… but soon, the only man you're gonna be with is the man upstairs.

Diana slowly wraps the lasso around Batman while Lobo laughs. Diana starts to head for the pits, dragging Batman's burned body with her.

Lobo- What are ya gonna do with that? Oh, I see… a murky, nasty grave for the lovers… I get it… Batman gets the rose and wins the show! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Wonder Woman falls into the remaining murkiness of the Lazarus pits and pulls Batman in with her. As the two heroes slowly sink to the bottom of what liquid is left in the pit, Lobo smiles broadly.

Lobo- If I had a hat, I would take it off in tribute… BWAHAHAHAHAHA--UNNNHHHHHHH!!

"Green Arrow to Wonder Woman… give me a sign you guys are alive down there."

Green Arrow and the others are on a Batjet when Lobo's body comes flying out of the sand, high into the sky, passed the jet and into space. The Batjet immediately crashes through the sand and enters the cavern, to find a crazed Wonder Woman smashing everything in sight.

Diana- WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT? WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?! WHERE IS LOBO?!

Batman is healed as well, and the Lasso of Truth is whole again, but Batman is under control of the Lasso and does not go crazy as Diana is.

Batman- Diana, the Lazarus Pits do cause a state of temporary insanity, do not be alarmed, it will pass soon.

Diana- JUST GIVE ME MY SPACE, OKAY?? BY HERA'S NAME, GIVE ME MY SPACE!!

Beastboy- We better do as she says.

Black Canary- (to Huntress) She kind of reminds me of you… right now, anyway.

Diana calms herself and removes the lasso from Batman. The two look at each other and Diana smiles, then looks down at Longshadow's corpse. The entire area seems to darken as silence sets in for a few minutes.

Nightwing- This is only a fraction of it. Wait until you see what's left of Themyscira.

Washington, DC… Superman, Superboy, Powergirl, and Captain Atom walk slowly into a Cadmus meeting. Amanda Waller, Doctor Achilles Milo, Doctor Moon, General Hardcastle, General Eiling, Hugo Strange, Professor Hamilton, Maxwell Lord and Tala are deep in meeting.

Gen. Hardcastle- We're gonna have to put pressure on Bush to nuke every suspected Apocalypse stronghold! We are at Defcon 1,000.

Maxwell- This wouldn't have happened if the Justice League were still around. I told you they had uses.

Gen. Hardcastle- Shut up about them! We had to take them out, this is your fault, Waller! You were the one who--

Waller- Enough of this blame game!

Superboy- Yeah, can't we all just get along?

Gen. Eiling- What the hell are you doing here? I thought we put you four in captivity!

Powergirl- Did you really think those cells were going to hold us? Come on, did you?

Superboy- Better question… did you really think we came here to surrender?

Captain Atom tosses the members of Cadmus cuffs to put on.

Capt. Atom- Put them on; don't make us force you.

Gen. Hardcastle- What in Sam Hill do you people think you're doing?

Superman- We're taking over. Some good heroes died today. Some real fighters for truth and justice died today. We can't ever get them back. You've shown that you aren't fit to govern this country, or this world. You aided Apocalypse in my capture and I barely escaped his control. You allowed him to infiltrate your organization by making a deal with Ras Al Ghul, a terrorist and a servant of Apocalypse. You are the reason for the devastations across this world. But NO MORE. You have proven that you cannot handle this threat, or any threat that will ever face this planet. It is up to us to deal with Apocalypse. As of right now, Cadmus, congress, and this country is under our control. We will stop Apocalypse.


End file.
